²⁵ For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of Gad. You have no portion in the Lord.’ So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord.

²¹ You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for ^(A)your heart is not right before God.

²⁰ Then I replied to them, ^(A)“The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim^[a] in Jerusalem.”

² they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers' houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever ^(A)since the days of ^(B)Esarhaddon king of Assyria ^(C)who brought us here.” ³ But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers' houses in Israel said to them, ^(D)“You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, ^(E)as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”

³⁰ It was for the sins of Jeroboam that he sinned and ^(A)that he made Israel to sin, and because of the anger to which he provoked the Lord, the God of Israel.

¹⁶ And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin.”

²⁷ If this people ^(A)go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” ²⁸ So the king took counsel and ^(B)made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. ^(C)Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” ²⁹ And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. ³⁰ Then ^(D)this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.^[a]

The Kingdom Divided

¹⁶ And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. ^(A)To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents.

The Rebellion of Sheba

20 Now there happened to be there ^(A)a worthless man, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjaminite. And he blew the trumpet and said,

¹⁹ Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, ^(A)for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in ^(B)the heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’