²⁵ The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord.’ So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord.

²¹ You have no part or share^(A) in this ministry, because your heart is not right^(B) before God.

²⁰ I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding,^(A) but as for you, you have no share^(B) in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

² they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon^(A) king of Assyria, who brought us here.”^(B)

³ But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”^(C)

³⁰ This happened because of the sins^(A) Jeroboam had committed and had caused^(B) Israel to commit, and because he aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel.

¹⁶ And he will give Israel up because of the sins^(A) Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”

²⁷ If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem,^(A) they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.”

²⁸ After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves.^(B) He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.”^{(C) 29} One he set up in Bethel,^(D) and the other in Dan.^{(E) 30} And this thing became a sin;^(F) the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.^[a]

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

So the Israelites went home.^(C)

Sheba Rebels Against David

20 Now a troublemaker named Sheba son of Bikri, a Benjamite, happened to be there. He sounded the trumpet and shouted,