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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. 1 Kings 12:2 Lit Jeroboam
  2. 1 Kings 12:5 Lit three more
  3. 1 Kings 12:6 Lit stood before
  4. 1 Kings 12:7 Lit answer them
  5. 1 Kings 12:8 Lit who stood before
  6. 1 Kings 12:11 Prob. a brutal type of whip
  7. 1 Kings 12:12 Lit spoken
  8. 1 Kings 12:13 Lit advised
  9. 1 Kings 12:14 See note v 11
  10. 1 Kings 12:15 Or the providence of the Lord
  11. 1 Kings 12:18 Lit with stones that he died
  12. 1 Kings 12:25 Lit in it
  13. 1 Kings 12:27 Lit do
  14. 1 Kings 12:28 Lit took counsel
  15. 1 Kings 12:28 Lit them
  16. 1 Kings 12:31 Lit made
  17. 1 Kings 12:31 Lit the extremities of the
  18. 1 Kings 12:32 Lit made
  19. 1 Kings 12:32 Or offered upon
  20. 1 Kings 12:33 Or offered upon
  21. 1 Kings 12:33 Lit made
  22. 1 Kings 12:33 Lit from
  23. 1 Kings 12:33 Lit made
  24. 1 Kings 12:33 Or offered upon
  25. 1 Kings 12:33 Or sacrifices
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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. 1 Kings 12:1 tn Heb “come [to].”
  2. 1 Kings 12:1 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  3. 1 Kings 12:2 tc Verse 2 is not included in the Old Greek translation. See the note on 11:43.
  4. 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).
  5. 1 Kings 12:3 tn Heb “They sent and called for him.”
  6. 1 Kings 12:4 tn Heb “made our yoke burdensome.”
  7. 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.
  8. 1 Kings 12:6 tn Heb “stood before.”
  9. 1 Kings 12:6 tn Heb “saying.”
  10. 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.”
  11. 1 Kings 12:7 tn Heb “and speak to them good words.”
  12. 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.”
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. 1 Kings 12:9 tn Heb “Lighten the yoke which your father placed on us.”
  16. 1 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  17. 1 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”
  18. 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.
  19. 1 Kings 12:11 tn Heb “and now my father placed upon you a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke.”
  20. 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.”
  21. 1 Kings 12:12 tn Heb “came.”
  22. 1 Kings 12:14 tn Heb “and spoke to them according to.”
  23. 1 Kings 12:14 tn Heb “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke.”
  24. 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.
  25. 1 Kings 12:15 tn Heb “because this turn of events was from the Lord.”
  26. 1 Kings 12:15 tn Heb “so that he might bring to pass his word which the Lord spoke.”
  27. 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.
  28. 1 Kings 12:16 tn Heb “to your tents, Israel.” The word “return” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  29. 1 Kings 12:16 tn Heb “Now see your house, David.”
  30. 1 Kings 12:16 tn Heb “went to their tents.”
  31. 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.
  32. 1 Kings 12:18 sn The work crews. See the note on this expression in 4:6.
  33. 1 Kings 12:20 tn Heb “there was no one [following] after the house of David except the tribe of Judah, it alone.”
  34. 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.”
  35. 1 Kings 12:22 tn Heb “and the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying.”
  36. 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.
  37. 1 Kings 12:26 tn Heb “said in his heart.”
  38. 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.”
  39. 1 Kings 12:27 tn Heb “the heart of these people could return to their master.”
  40. 1 Kings 12:28 tn The words “with his advisers” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  41. 1 Kings 12:28 tn Heb “to them.”
  42. 1 Kings 12:30 tn Heb “and this thing became a sin.”
  43. 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.”
  44. 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.
  45. 1 Kings 12:32 sn The eighth month would correspond to October-November in modern reckoning.
  46. 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.
  47. 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.”
  48. 1 Kings 12:33 tn Heb “which he had chosen by himself.”
  49. 1 Kings 12:33 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jeroboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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