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10 And Rehoboam goeth to Shechem, for [to] Shechem have all Israel come to cause him to reign.

And it cometh to pass, at Jeroboam son of Nebat's -- who [is] in Egypt because he hath fled from the face of Solomon the king -- hearing, that Jeroboam turneth back out of Egypt;

and they send and call for him, and Jeroboam cometh in, and all Israel, and speak unto Rehoboam, saying,

`Thy father made our yoke sharp, and now, make light [somewhat] of the sharp service of thy father, and of his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we serve thee.'

And he saith unto them, `Yet three days -- then return ye unto me;' and the people go.

And king Rehoboam consulteth with the aged men who have been standing before Solomon his father in his being alive, saying, `How are ye counselling to answer this people?'

And they speak unto him, saying, `If thou dost become good to this people, and hast been pleased with them, and spoken unto them good words, then they have been to thee servants all the days.'

And he forsaketh the counsel of the aged men that they counselled him, and consulteth with the lads who have grown up with him, those standing before him,

and he saith unto them, `What are ye counselling, and we answer this people that have spoken unto me, saying, Make light [somewhat] of the yoke that thy father put upon us?'

10 And the lads who have grown up with him, speak with him, saying, `Thus dost thou say to the people who have spoken unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and thou, make light [somewhat] of our yoke; thus dost thou say unto them, My little finger is thicker than the loins of my father;

11 and now, my father laid on you a heavy yoke, and I -- I add unto your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, and I -- with scorpions.'

12 And Jeroboam cometh in, and all the people, unto Rehoboam on the third day, as the king spake, saying, `Return unto me on the third day.'

13 And the king answereth them sharply, and king Rehoboam forsaketh the counsel of the aged men,

14 and speaketh unto them according to the counsel of the lads, saying, `My father made your yoke heavy, and I -- I add unto it; my father chastised you with whips, and I -- with scorpions.'

15 And the king hath not hearkened unto the people, for the revolution hath been from God, for the sake of Jehovah's establishing His word that He spake by the hand of Abijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam son of Nebat.

16 And all Israel have seen that the king hath not hearkened to them, and the people send back [to] the king, saying, `What portion have we in David? yea, there is no inheritance in a son of Jesse; each to thy tents, O Israel; now, see thy house -- David,' and all Israel go to their tents.

17 As to the sons of Israel who are dwelling in the cities of Judah -- Rehoboam reigneth over them.

18 And king Rehoboam sendeth Hadoram, who [is] over the tribute, and the sons of Israel cast at him stones, and he dieth; and king Rehoboam hath strengthened himself to go up into a chariot to flee to Jerusalem;

19 and Israel transgress against the house of David unto this day.

The Revolt Against Rehoboam(A)

10 And (B)Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was in Egypt, (C)where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), that Jeroboam returned from Egypt. Then they sent for him and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, “Your father made our yoke heavy; now therefore, lighten the burdensome service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”

So he said to them, “Come back to me after three days.” And the people departed.

Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, saying, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

And they spoke to him, saying, “If you are kind to these people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever.”

(D)But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him. And he said to them, “What advice do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”

10 Then the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you should speak to the people who have spoken to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us’—thus you shall say to them: ‘My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s waist! 11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with [a]scourges!’ ”

12 So (E)Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had directed, saying, “Come back to me the third day.” 13 Then the king answered them roughly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders, 14 and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, [b]“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with [c]scourges!” 15 So the king did not listen to the people; (F)for the turn of events was from God, that the Lord might fulfill His (G)word, which He had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 Now when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying:

“What share have we in David?
We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.
Every man to your tents, O Israel!
Now see to your own house, O David!”

So all Israel departed to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

18 Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of revenue; but the children of Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem. 19 (H)So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 10:11 Scourges with points or barbs, lit. scorpions
  2. 2 Chronicles 10:14 So with many Heb. mss., LXX, Syr., Vg. (cf. v. 10; 1 Kin. 12:14); MT I
  3. 2 Chronicles 10:14 Lit. scorpions

The Revolt Against Rehoboam

10 (A)Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt, (B)where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. And they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and said to Rehoboam, (C)“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” He said to them, “Come to me again in three days.” So the people went away.

Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men,[a] who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” And they said to him, (D)“If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us’; thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs. 11 And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, “Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered them harshly; and forsaking the counsel of the old men, 14 King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the Lord might fulfill his word, (E)which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. (F)Each of you to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So all Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent (G)Hadoram,[b] who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 10:6 Or the elders; also verses 8, 13
  2. 2 Chronicles 10:18 Spelled Adoram in 1 Kings 12:18

Rehoboam King of Judah

10 Rehoboam went to Shechem, because all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king.

When Jeroboam son of Nebat, who was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon, heard about this, he returned from Egypt, and the people then sent for Jeroboam.

Jeroboam and all Israel came to Rehoboam and said, “Your father made our yoke heavy. Now lighten your father’s harsh service and the heavy yoke that he laid on us, and we will serve you.”

Rehoboam said to them, “Return to me in three days.” So the people left.

King Rehoboam asked for advice from the old men[a] who had served his father Solomon while he was alive: “How would you advise me to respond to these people?”

They said to him, “If you are good to these people and respond favorably to their request, and you speak accommodating words to them, they will be your servants forever.”

But Rehoboam did not follow the advice the old men gave him. Instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who were serving as his advisors. He said to them, “How would you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father laid upon us’?”

10 The young men who had grown up with him said to him, “This is what you should say to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy. You make it light for us.’ This is what you should say to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.[b] 11 My father imposed a heavy yoke on you. I will add to your yoke. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.’”[c]

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day as the king had directed: “Come back to me on the third day.”

13 The king answered them harshly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the old men.

14 Instead, he spoke to them as the young men had advised: “My father made your yoke heavy. I will add to it. My father punished you with whips. I will punish you with scorpions.”

15 The king did not listen to the people, because this turn of events was from God, so that the Lord would keep his word, as he had spoken it to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah from Shiloh.

16 When all Israel saw[d] that the king did not listen to them, they responded to the king:

What share do we have in David?

No inheritance with the son of Jesse!

To your tents, Israel!

Now, look after your own house, David!

So all Israel went to their tents.[e]

17 Rehoboam continued to rule over the people of Israel who were living in the cities of Judah.

18 King Rehoboam sent Hadoram,[f] who was in charge of the forced labor, but the people of Israel stoned Hadoram to death. King Rehoboam, however, was able to get into his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David until this day.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Chronicles 10:6 Or elders
  2. 2 Chronicles 10:10 Or thighs
  3. 2 Chronicles 10:11 Possibly a name for a particularly painful kind of scourge, here and in verse 14
  4. 2 Chronicles 10:16 Many Hebrew manuscripts omit saw, but this reading has good support in the ancient versions.
  5. 2 Chronicles 10:16 Go to their tents is a common idiom for go home. It does not imply that the Israelites all lived in tents.
  6. 2 Chronicles 10:18 Also called Adoram or Adoniram