Rehoboam's Folly

12 ^(A)Rehoboam went to ^(B)Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. ² And as soon as ^(C)Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for ^(D)he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from^[a] Egypt. ³ And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, ^4 (E)“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.” ⁵ He said to them, ^(F)“Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.

⁶ Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” ⁷ And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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 this 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 ^(G)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, ^(H)“Come to me again the third day.” ¹³ And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, ¹⁴ he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, ^(I)“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” ¹⁵ So the king did not listen to the people, for ^(J)it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which ^(K)the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

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. ^(L)To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. ¹⁷ But Rehoboam reigned over ^(M)the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. ¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent ^(N)Adoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. ^19 (O)So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

^6 (A)The ^(B)apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. ⁷ And after there had been much ^(C)debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, ^(D)that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear ^(E)the word of ^(F)the gospel and believe. ⁸ And God, ^(G)who knows the heart, ^(H)bore witness to them, ^(I)by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, ⁹ and ^(J)he made no distinction between us and them, ^(K)having cleansed their hearts ^(L)by faith. ¹⁰ Now, therefore, why ^(M)are you putting God to the test ^(N)by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples ^(O)that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? ¹¹ But we ^(P)believe that we will be ^(Q)saved through ^(R)the grace of the Lord Jesus, ^(S)just as they will.”

¹² And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul ^(T)as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. ¹³ After they finished speaking, ^(U)James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. ^14 (V)Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them ^(W)a people for his name. ¹⁵ And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,

¹⁹ Therefore ^(AB)my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who ^(AC)turn to God, ²⁰ but should write to them ^(AD)to abstain from ^(AE)the things polluted by idols, and from ^(AF)sexual immorality, and from ^(AG)what has been strangled, and from ^(AH)blood. ²¹ For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, ^(AI)for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues.”