² When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of this, he returned from Egypt,^[a] for he had fled to Egypt to escape from King Solomon.

⁴⁰ Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to King Shishak of Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died.

² When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of this, he returned from Egypt, for he had fled to Egypt to escape from King Solomon. ³ The leaders of Israel summoned him, and Jeroboam and all Israel went to speak with Rehoboam.

Jeroboam Rebels against Solomon

²⁶ Another rebel leader was Jeroboam son of Nebat, one of Solomon’s own officials. He came from the town of Zeredah in Ephraim, and his mother was Zeruah, a widow.

²⁷ This is the story behind his rebellion. Solomon was rebuilding the supporting terraces^[a] and repairing the walls of the city of his father, David. ²⁸ Jeroboam was a very capable young man, and when Solomon saw how industrious he was, he put him in charge of the labor force from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph.

²⁹ One day as Jeroboam was leaving Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh met him along the way. Ahijah was wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone in a field, ³⁰ and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces. ³¹ Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten of these pieces, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon, and I will give ten of the tribes to you!