1 Kings 12
Expanded Bible
Israel Turns Against Rehoboam(A)
12 Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all the Israelites had ·gone [gathered] to make him king. 2 Jeroboam son of Nebat was still in Egypt, where he had ·gone to escape [fled] from Solomon. When Jeroboam heard about Rehoboam being made king, he was living in Egypt. 3 After ·the people [or the leaders; L they] sent for him, he and ·the people [L all the assembly/crowd of Israel] went to Rehoboam and said to him, 4 “Your father ·forced us to work [L made our yoke] very hard. Now, ·make it easier for us [lighten the harsh labor], and ·don’t make us work as hard as he did [L the heavy yoke he put on us]. Then we will serve you.”
5 Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days, and then come back to me.” So the people left.
6 King Rehoboam asked the elders who had ·advised [served; attended] Solomon during his lifetime, “How do you ·think I should [advise/counsel me to] answer these people?”
7 They said, “You should be like a servant to them today. If you serve them and ·give them a kind answer [L speak good words], they will serve you always.”
8 But Rehoboam ·rejected this advice [L disregarded/forsook the counsel given by the elders]. Instead, he asked the young men who had grown up with him and who served ·as his advisers [L him]. 9 Rehoboam asked them, “What is your ·advice [counsel]? How should we answer these people who said, ‘·Don’t make us work as hard as your father did’ [L Lighten the yoke that your father put on us]?”
10 The young men who had grown up with him answered, “Those people said to you, ‘Your father ·forced us to work very hard [L made our yoke heavy]. Now make our work ·easier [lighter].’ You should tell them, ‘My little finger is ·bigger [thicker] than my father’s ·legs [L loins; C more manly]. 11 ·He forced you to work hard [L My father loaded/burdened you with a heavy yoke], but I will ·make you work even harder [L add to your yoke]. My father ·beat [scourged; disciplined; controlled] you with whips, but I will ·beat [scourge; discipline; control] you with ·whips that have sharp points [or scorpions].’”
12 After three days Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam as the king had ordered. 13 King Rehoboam spoke ·cruel [harsh] words to them, because he had ·rejected the advice [disregarded the counsel] the elders had given him. 14 He followed the ·advice [counsel] of the young men and said to the people, “My father ·forced you to work hard [L loaded/burdened you with a heavy yoke], but I will ·make you work even harder [L add to your yoke]. My father ·beat [scourged; disciplined; controlled] you with whips, but I will ·beat [scourge; discipline; control] you with ·whips that have sharp points [or scorpions].” 15 So the king did not listen to the people. The Lord caused this ·to happen [L turn (of events)] to ·keep the promise [L fulfill/establish the word/message] he had made to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah, a prophet from Shiloh [11:11–12, 29–31].
16 When all ·the Israelites [L Israel] saw that the new king refused to listen to them, they said to the king,
“·We have no share [L What portion do we have…?] in David!
We have no ·part [L inheritance] in the son of Jesse!
·People of Israel, let’s go to our own homes [L To your tents, Israel]!
·Let David’s son rule his own people [L Look out for your own house, David]!”
So the Israelites went ·home [L to their tents]. 17 But Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites who lived in the towns of Judah.
18 ·Adoniram[a] [C Hebrew: Adoram] was in charge of the ·forced labor [or labor force; 2 Sam. 20:24; 1 Kin. 4:6]. When Rehoboam sent him to the people of Israel, they ·threw stones at him until he died [stoned him to death]. But King Rehoboam ran to his chariot and ·escaped [fled] to Jerusalem. 19 Since then, Israel has ·been against [refused to be ruled by; been in rebellion against] the family of David.
20 When all ·the Israelites [L Israel] heard that Jeroboam had returned, they called ·him to a meeting [an assembly] and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah ·continued to follow [stayed loyal to] the ·family [L house] of David.
21 When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he ·gathered [mobilized; assembled] one hundred eighty thousand of the ·best [elite; select] soldiers from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. As son of Solomon, Rehoboam wanted to fight the ·people [L house] of Israel to ·take back [restore] his kingdom.
22 But ·God spoke his word [L the word of God came] to Shemaiah, ·a [or the] man of God [C a prophet], saying, 23 “·Speak [Say] to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and to all the ·people [L house] of Judah and Benjamin and the rest of the people. Say to them, 24 ‘·The Lord says [T Thus says the Lord,] you must not go to war against your ·brothers [relatives], the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel]. Every one of you should go home, because ·I made all these things happen [this has come from me; this is my doing].’” So they ·obeyed the Lord’s command [L listened to the word of the Lord] and went home ·as the Lord had commanded [in accordance with his word].
25 Then Jeroboam ·built up [fortified] Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and he lived there. He also went out and ·built up [fortified] the city of Peniel.
Jeroboam Builds Golden Calves
26 Jeroboam said ·to himself [L in his heart], “The kingdom will probably ·go back [revert] to David’s ·family [L house]. 27 If the people continue going to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices, ·they will want to be ruled again by [L the heart of the people will return to] Rehoboam king of Judah. Then they will kill me and ·follow [return to] Rehoboam king of Judah.”
28 King Jeroboam asked for advice. Then he made two golden calves [C on the model of Aaron’s calf; Ex. 32]. “It is too ·long a journey [much] for you to go to Jerusalem [C to worship],” he said to the people. “Israel, here are your gods [or this is your God; C it is possible that the image was associated with the false worship of the true God] who brought you out of Egypt.” 29 Jeroboam put one golden calf in the city of Bethel and the other in the city of Dan [C at opposite ends of his kingdom]. 30 This became a very great sin, because the people traveled as far as Dan[b] [C in the north] to worship the calf there.
31 Jeroboam built ·temples [L houses] on the ·places of worship [L high places; 3:2]. He also chose priests from all the people, not just from the tribe of Levi [C a violation of God’s command; cf. Num. 3:10]. 32 And he started a new festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, just like the festival in Judah [C the Feast of Shelters; he was trying to imitate Israel’s way of worship]. During that time the king ·offered sacrifices on [went up to] the altar, along with sacrifices to the calves in Bethel he had made. He also chose priests in Bethel to serve at the ·places of worship [L high places; 3:2] he had made. 33 So Jeroboam ·chose his own time [devised in his own heart the month] for a festival for the Israelites—the fifteenth day of the eighth month. During that time he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built in Bethel. He ·set up [instituted] a festival for the Israelites and ·offered sacrifices [burned incense] on the altar.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 12:18 Adoniram Hebrew copies read Adoram. Some Greek and Syriac copies read Adoniram.
- 1 Kings 12:30 as far as Dan The original Hebrew text may have read, “to Bethel and as far as Dan.”
1 Kings 12
New American Standard Bible
King Rehoboam Acts Foolishly
12 (A)Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had come to (B)Shechem to make him king. 2 Now (C)when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard about this, [a]he was living in Egypt (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon). 3 Then they sent word and summoned him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “(D)Your father made our 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 Then he said to them, “(E)Depart [b]for three days, then return to me.” So the people departed.
6 And King Rehoboam (F)consulted with the elders who had [c]served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7 Then they spoke to him, saying, “(G)If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and [d]grant them their request, and speak pleasant words to them, then they will be your servants always.” 8 But he ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him [e]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 And the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “This is what you should say to this people who spoke to you, saying: ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, now 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 [f]scorpions!’”
12 Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had [g]directed, saying, “(H)Return to me on the third day.” 13 And the king answered the people harshly, for he ignored the advice of the elders which they had [h]given him, 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “(I)My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with [i]scorpions!” 15 So the king did not listen to the people; (J)because it was [j]a turn of events from the Lord, (K)in order to establish His word which the Lord spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
The Kingdom Divided; Jeroboam Rules Israel
16 When all Israel saw that the king had not listened to them, the people replied to the king, saying,
“What share do we have in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse;
(L)To your tents, Israel!
Now look after your own house, David!”
So Israel went away to their tents. 17 But (M)as for the sons of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent (N)Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him [k]to death. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 (O)So Israel has broken with the house of David to this day.
20 And it came about, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent word and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel. (P)None except the tribe of Judah alone followed the house of David.
21 (Q)Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to (R)Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 23 “Tell Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the (S)rest of the people, saying, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: “You shall not go up nor fight against your relatives the sons of Israel; return, every man to his house, (T)for this thing has come from Me.”’” So they listened to the word of the Lord, and returned to go their way in accordance with the word of the Lord.
Jeroboam’s Idolatry
25 Then (U)Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived [l]there. And he went out from there and built (V)Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. 27 (W)If this people go up to [m]offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king [n]consulted, and he (X)made two golden (Y)calves; and he said to [o]the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; (Z)behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set up (AA)one in (AB)Bethel, and the other he put in (AC)Dan. 30 Now (AD)this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. 31 And (AE)he made houses on high places, and [p](AF)appointed priests from [q]all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. 32 Jeroboam also [r]instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, (AG)like the feast that is in Judah, and he [s]went up to the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel (AH)the priests of the high places which he had made. 33 Then he [t]went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, the month that he had [u](AI)devised [v]in his own heart; and he [w]instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and [x]went up to the altar (AJ)to burn [y]incense.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 12:2 Lit Jeroboam
- 1 Kings 12:5 Lit three more
- 1 Kings 12:6 Lit stood before
- 1 Kings 12:7 Lit answer them
- 1 Kings 12:8 Lit who stood before
- 1 Kings 12:11 Prob. a brutal type of whip
- 1 Kings 12:12 Lit spoken
- 1 Kings 12:13 Lit advised
- 1 Kings 12:14 See note v 11
- 1 Kings 12:15 Or the providence of the Lord
- 1 Kings 12:18 Lit with stones that he died
- 1 Kings 12:25 Lit in it
- 1 Kings 12:27 Lit do
- 1 Kings 12:28 Lit took counsel
- 1 Kings 12:28 Lit them
- 1 Kings 12:31 Lit made
- 1 Kings 12:31 Lit the extremities of the
- 1 Kings 12:32 Lit made
- 1 Kings 12:32 Or offered upon
- 1 Kings 12:33 Or offered upon
- 1 Kings 12:33 Lit made
- 1 Kings 12:33 Lit from
- 1 Kings 12:33 Lit made
- 1 Kings 12:33 Or offered upon
- 1 Kings 12:33 Or sacrifices
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