1 Kings 12
New International Reader's Version
Israel Refuses to Follow Rehoboam
12 Rehoboam went to the city of Shechem. All the Israelites had gone there to make him king. 2 Jeroboam heard about it. He was the son of Nebat. Jeroboam was still in Egypt at that time. He had gone there for safety. He wanted to get away from King Solomon. But now he returned from Egypt. 3 So the people sent for Jeroboam. He and the whole community of Israel went to Rehoboam. They said to him, 4 “Your father put a heavy load on our shoulders. But now make our hard work easier. Make the heavy load on us lighter. Then we’ll serve you.”
5 Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days. Then come back to me.” So the people went away.
6 King Rehoboam asked the elders for advice. They had served his father Solomon while he was still living. Rehoboam asked them, “What advice can you give me? How should I answer these people?”
7 They replied, “Serve them today. Give them what they are asking for. Then they’ll always serve you.”
8 But Rehoboam didn’t accept the advice the elders gave him. Instead, he asked for advice from the young men. They had grown up with him and were now serving him. 9 He asked them, “What’s your advice? How should I answer these people? They say to me, ‘Make the load your father put on our shoulders lighter.’ ”
10 The young men who had grown up with him gave their answer. They replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy load on our shoulders. Make it lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is stronger than my father’s legs. 11 My father put a heavy load on your shoulders. But I’ll make it even heavier. My father beat you with whips. But I’ll beat you with bigger whips.’ ”
12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam. That’s because the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13 The king answered the people in a mean way. He didn’t accept the advice the elders had given him. 14 Instead, he followed the advice of the young men. He said, “My father put a heavy load on your shoulders. But I’ll make it even heavier. My father beat you with whips. But I’ll beat you with bigger whips.” 15 So the king didn’t listen to the people. That’s because the Lord had planned it that way. What he had said through Ahijah came true. Ahijah had spoken the Lord’s message to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Ahijah was from Shiloh.
16 All the Israelites saw that the king refused to listen to them. So they answered the king. They said,
“We don’t have any share in David’s royal family.
We don’t have any share in Jesse’s son.
People of Israel, let’s go back to our homes.
David’s royal family, take care of your own kingdom!”
So the Israelites went home. 17 But Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites living in the towns of Judah.
18 Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work hard for King Rehoboam. The king sent him out among all the Israelites. But they killed Adoniram by throwing stones at him. King Rehoboam was able to get away in his chariot. He escaped to Jerusalem. 19 Israel has refused to follow the royal family of David to this day.
20 All the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned. They sent for him. They wanted him to meet with the whole community. Then they made him king over the entire nation of Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained true to David’s royal family.
21 Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem. He brought together 180,000 capable young men from Judah and the tribe of Benjamin. He had decided to go to war against Israel. Solomon’s son Rehoboam wanted his fighting men to get the kingdom of Israel back for him.
22 But a message from God came to Shemaiah. He was a man of God. God said to him, 23 “Speak to Solomon’s son Rehoboam, the king of Judah. Speak to all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin. Also speak to the rest of the people. Tell all of them, 24 ‘The Lord says, “Do not go up to fight against the Israelites. They are your relatives. I want every one of you to go back home. Things have happened exactly the way I planned them.” ’ ” So the fighting men obeyed the Lord’s message. They went home again, just as he had ordered.
Golden Calves at Bethel and Dan
25 Jeroboam built up the walls of Shechem. It was in the hill country of Ephraim. Jeroboam made Shechem his home. From there he went out and built up Peniel.
26 Jeroboam thought, “My kingdom still isn’t secure. It could very easily go back to the royal family of David. 27 Suppose the Israelites go up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Lord’s temple. If they do, they will again decide to follow Rehoboam as their master. Then they’ll kill me. They’ll return to King Rehoboam. He is king of Judah.”
28 So King Jeroboam asked for advice. Then he made two golden statues that looked like calves. He said to the people, “It’s too hard for you to go up to Jerusalem. Israel, here are your gods who brought you up out of Egypt.” 29 He set up one statue in Bethel. He set up the other one in Dan. 30 What Jeroboam did was sinful. And it caused Israel to sin. The people came to worship the statue at Bethel. They went all the way to Dan to worship the statue that was there.
31 Jeroboam built temples for worshiping gods on high places. He appointed all kinds of people as priests. They didn’t even have to be Levites. 32 He established a feast. It was on the 15th day of the eighth month. He wanted to make it like the Feast of Booths that was held in Judah. Jeroboam built an altar at Bethel. He offered sacrifices on it. He sacrificed to the calves he had made. He also put priests in Bethel. He did it at the high places he had made. 33 He offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. It was on the 15th day of the eighth month. That’s the month he had chosen for it. So he established the feast for the Israelites. And he went up to the altar to sacrifice offerings.
1 Kungaboken 12
Svenska Folkbibeln 2015
De norra stammarna avfaller
12 (A) Rehabeam[a] begav sig till Shekem, för hela Israel hade kommit till Shekem för att göra honom till kung. 2 (B) Jerobeam[b], Nebats son, hörde det medan han ännu var i Egypten, dit han hade flytt undan kung Salomo. Jerobeam bodde alltså i Egypten, 3 men man sände bud och kallade honom tillbaka. Då kom Jerobeam tillsammans med Israels hela församling och sade till Rehabeam: 4 ”Din far gjorde vårt ok tungt. Men lätta du nu det svåra arbete och det tunga ok som din far lade på oss, så vill vi tjäna dig.” 5 Han svarade dem: ”Gå och kom tillbaka till mig om tre dagar.” Och folket gick.
6 Då rådgjorde kung Rehabeam med de gamla som hade varit i tjänst hos hans far Salomo medan han ännu levde, och sade: ”Vilket svar råder ni mig att ge detta folk?” 7 De svarade honom: ”Om du i dag vill bli detta folks tjänare och tjäna dem, om du lyssnar till deras bön och talar goda ord till dem, så kommer de att bli dina tjänare för alltid.”
8 Men han brydde sig inte om det råd som de gamla hade gett honom, utan rådgjorde med de unga män som hade växt upp med honom och som nu var i hans tjänst. 9 Han sade till dem: ”Vilket svar råder ni oss att ge detta folk som har sagt till mig: Lätta det ok som din far har lagt på oss?” 10 De unga männen, som hade växt upp med honom, svarade: ”Så här bör du säga till detta folk, som har sagt till dig: Din far gjorde vårt ok tungt, men lätta du det för oss – så här bör du säga till dem: Mitt minsta finger är tjockare än min fars midja. 11 Ni ska veta, att har min far lagt på er ett tungt ok, ska jag göra ert ok ännu tyngre. Har min far tuktat er med ris, ska jag tukta er med skorpiongissel[c].”
12 På tredje dagen kom Jerobeam med allt folket i Israel till Rehabeam, så som kungen hade befallt när han sade: ”Kom tillbaka till mig på tredje dagen.” 13 Då gav kungen folket ett hårt svar. Han brydde sig inte om det råd som de gamla hade gett honom. 14 Han följde de unga männens råd och sade: ”Har min far gjort ert ok tungt, ska jag göra ert ok ännu tyngre. Har min far tuktat er med ris, ska jag tukta er med skorpiongissel.” 15 (C) Kungen lyssnade alltså inte till folket. Herren ledde det så, för att det skulle uppfyllas som Herren hade talat till Jerobeam, Nebats son, genom Ahia från Shilo.
16 (D) När hela Israel förstod att kungen inte ville höra på dem, gav folket honom detta svar:
”Vad har vi för del i David?
Vi har ingen arvslott i Ishais son.
Gå hem till dina tält, Israel!
Se nu efter ditt hus själv, David.”
Därefter gick Israel hem igen. 17 Rehabeam förblev kung endast över de israeliter som bodde i Juda städer.
18 (E) När kung Rehabeam sände ut Adoram, som hade uppsikten över tvångsarbetena, stenade hela Israel honom till döds. Själv måste kung Rehabeam skyndsamt stiga upp i sin vagn och fly till Jerusalem. 19 Så avföll Israel från Davids hus och har varit skilt från det ända till denna dag.
20 När hela Israel fick höra att Jerobeam hade kommit tillbaka, sände de bud och kallade honom till folkförsamlingen och gjorde honom till kung över hela Israel. Ingen höll sig till Davids hus mer än Juda stam.
Shemajas budskap
21 (F) När Rehabeam kom till Jerusalem, kallade han samman hela Juda hus och Benjamins stam, 180 000 utvalda krigare, för att de skulle strida mot Israels hus och vinna tillbaka kungadömet åt Rehabeam, Salomos son. 22 Men Guds ord kom till gudsmannen Shemaja. Han sade: 23 ”Säg till Rehabeam, Salomos son, kung av Juda, och till hela Juda hus och Benjamin och resten av folket: 24 Så säger Herren: Ni ska inte dra upp för att strida mot era bröder, Israels barn. Vänd tillbaka hem, var och en till sitt, för det som har hänt har kommit från mig.” De lyssnade till Herrens ord och vände om och gick sin väg, så som Herren hade befallt.
Jerobeams kalvar i Betel och Dan
25 (G) Jerobeam befäste Shekem i Efraims bergsbygd och bosatte sig där. Därifrån drog han bort och befäste Penuel[d]. 26 Jerobeam tänkte inom sig: ”Nu kan riket komma tillbaka till Davids hus.
27 För om folket drar upp till Herrens hus i Jerusalem för att offra, kan folket i sitt hjärta vända tillbaka till sin herre Rehabeam, Juda kung. Då dödar de mig och vänder tillbaka till Rehabeam, Juda kung.”
28 (H) Sedan kungen hade rådgjort om detta, lät han göra två kalvar[e] av guld och sade till folket: ”Nu får det vara nog med era färder upp till Jerusalem. Se, här är din Gud, Israel, han som har fört dig upp ur Egyptens land.” 29 (I) Han ställde upp den ena i Betel[f] och den andra i Dan[g]. 30 (J) Detta blev en orsak till synd. Folket gick ända till Dan för att träda fram för den ena av dem. 31 (K) Han byggde också upp offerhöjdshus och gjorde alla slags män ur folket till präster, sådana som inte var leviter[h].
32 (L) Jerobeam anordnade en högtid på femtonde dagen i åttonde månaden[i], lik högtiden i Juda, och gick då upp till altaret. Han gjorde det i Betel för att offra åt de kalvar som han hade låtit göra. Männen som han hade gjort till offerhöjdspräster lät han göra tjänst i Betel. 33 Till det altare som han hade gjort i Betel steg han alltså upp på femtonde dagen i åttonde månaden, det var den månad som han själv hade valt. Han anordnade då en högtid för Israels barn och steg upp till altaret för att tända offereld.
Footnotes
- 12:1 Rehabeam Betyder ”folket breder ut sig”.
- 12:2 Jerobeam Betyder ”folket ska bli stort” eller ”tvistar med folket”.
- 12:11 skorpiongissel Kanske en piska med vassa taggar (jfr not till Matt 27:26).
- 12:25 Shekem … Penuel Städer vid nutida Nablus respektive vid Jabbok öster om Jordan (1 Mos 32:31). Båda härjades senare av Shishak år 925 f Kr (14:25).
- 12:28 kalvar Ungtjurar, symbol för styrka och virilitet. Guldkalvarna fördömdes strängt av profeterna (Hos 8:5, se även 2 Mos 32 och 2 Kung 17:16). Möjligen tänkt som en ersättning för arken, ”Guds fotpall” (1 Krön 28:2), eftersom tjurar i kananeisk mytologi fungerade som gudatroner.
- 12:29 Betel Ort ca 1-2 mil norr om Jerusalem där patriarkerna mött Gud (1 Mos 12:8, 28:19, 35:1).
- 12:29 Dan Stad vid Israels norra gräns som även tidigare hyst avgudabilder (Dom 18:14). Dans kalvtempel är utgrävt. Det mätte ca 60 x 45 m och hade ett stort hornförsett altare på en öppen innergård.
- 12:31 leviter Tempeltjänarnas stam var lojala med Jerusalems tempel (8:4, 12:27, 2 Krön 12:13f).
- 12:32 femtonde dagen i åttonde månaden Oktober-november, en månad senare än lövhyddohögtiden (3 Mos 23:34) då man gick till Jerusalems tempel (5 Mos 16:13f).
1 Kings 12
King James Version
12 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)
3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,
4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
5 And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
7 And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.
8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
9 And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
10 And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.
11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;
14 And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
15 Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the Lord, that he might perform his saying, which the Lord spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
20 And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
21 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22 But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
23 Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
24 Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord.
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
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