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1 Kings 12:1-20
Lexham English Bible

Israel’s Appeal to Rehoboam

12 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all of Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 It happened that Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it while he was still in Egypt where he had fled from the face of King Solomon, and Jeroboam had lived in Egypt. 3 So they sent and summoned him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came. Then they spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made our yoke heavy; now lighten the hard labor of your father and the heavy yoke which he placed on us, and we will serve you.” 5 He said, “Go up for three days and then return to me”; so the people went away.

Rehoboam Seeks Counsel to Respond

6 Then King Rehoboam consulted with the old men who had been serving[a] before Solomon his father when he was alive, saying, “How are you advising me to answer this people?”[b] 7 They said to him, “If you will be a servant today to this people, then you will serve them; and if you answer them and speak good words to them, they will always be your servants.” 8 But he rejected the advice of the old men, which they gave him, and he consulted with the youngsters who had grown up with him, who were serving[c] before him. 9 He said to them, “What are you advising that we should reply to this people who spoke to me by saying, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us.’” 10 Then the youngsters who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you shall say to this people who spoke to you: ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ you shall say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins. 11 So then, my father loaded a heavy yoke on all of you, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions!’”

Rehoboam Responds Unwisely with Disastrous Results

12 Jeroboam and all of the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had spoken: “Return to me on the third day.” 13 Then the king answered all the people harshly, as he had rejected the advice of the old men that they had offered. 14 He spoke to them according to the advice of the youngsters, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add onto 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 it was a turning of events from Yahweh in order to fulfill his word which Yahweh had spoken through the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 16 When all of Israel saw that the king would not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, “What share do we have in David?[d] There is no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, Israel! Now look to your house, David!” Then Israel went to their[e] tents.

17 The Israelites[f] were living in the cities of Judah, and Rehoboam was reigning over them. 18 King Rehoboam sent Adoram who was over the forced labor, and all of Israel cast stones at him and he died, but King Rehoboam managed to get up on the chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David until this day.

Civil War Averted

20 It happened that just when all of Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all of Israel. Not one followed after the house of David except the tribe of Judah alone.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 12:6 Literally “standing”
  2. 1 Kings 12:6 Literally “to return a word to this people”
  3. 1 Kings 12:8 Literally “standing”
  4. 1 Kings 12:16 Literally “What is for us a share in David”
  5. 1 Kings 12:16 Hebrew “his”
  6. 1 Kings 12:17 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
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1 Kings 12:1-20
New English Translation

Rehoboam Loses His Kingdom

12 Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in[a] Shechem to make Rehoboam[b] king. 2 [c] When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since.[d] 3 They sent for him,[e] and Jeroboam and the whole Israelite assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, 4 “Your father made us work too hard.[f] Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.”[g] 5 He said to them, “Go away for three days, then return to me.” So the people went away.

6 King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served[h] his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them,[i] “How do you advise me to answer these people?” 7 They said to him, “Today if you will be a servant to these people and grant their request,[j] speaking kind words to them,[k] they will be your servants from this time forward.”[l] 8 But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up.[m] 9 He asked them, “How do you advise me[n] to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?”[o] 10 The young advisers with whom Rehoboam[p] had grown up said to him, “Say this to these people who have said to you, ‘Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.’[q] Say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father![r] 11 My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.[s] My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’”[t]

12 Jeroboam and all the people reported[u] to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, “Return to me on the third day.” 13 The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men 14 and followed[v] the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.[w] My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.”[x] 15 The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events[y] so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made[z] through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, “We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse![aa] Return to your homes, O Israel![ab] Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!”[ac] So Israel returned to their homes.[ad] 17 (Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.) 18 King Rehoboam sent Adoniram,[ae] the supervisor of the work crews,[af] out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day. 20 When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty.[ag]

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 12:1 tn Heb “come [to].”
  2. 1 Kings 12:1 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  3. 1 Kings 12:2 tc Verse 2 is not included in the Old Greek translation. See the note on 11:43.
  4. 1 Kings 12:2 tn Heb “and Jeroboam lived in Egypt.” The parallel text in 2 Chr 10:2 reads, “and Jeroboam returned from Egypt.” In a purely consonantal text the forms “and he lived” and “and he returned” are identical (וישׁב).
  5. 1 Kings 12:3 tn Heb “They sent and called for him.”
  6. 1 Kings 12:4 tn Heb “made our yoke burdensome.”
  7. 1 Kings 12:4 tn Heb “but you, now, lighten the burdensome work of your father and the heavy yoke which he placed on us, and we will serve you.” In the Hebrew text the prefixed verbal form with vav (וְנַעַבְדֶךָ, [venaʿavdekha] “and we will serve you”) following the imperative (הָקֵל [haqel], “lighten”) indicates purpose (or result). The conditional sentence used in the translation above is an attempt to bring out the logical relationship between these forms.
  8. 1 Kings 12:6 tn Heb “stood before.”
  9. 1 Kings 12:6 tn Heb “saying.”
  10. 1 Kings 12:7 tn Heb “and serve them and answer them,” understood as “serve them in how you answer them,” hence “grant their request.”
  11. 1 Kings 12:7 tn Heb “and speak to them good words.”
  12. 1 Kings 12:7 tn Heb “all the days.” The Hebrew phrase contrasts what he is asked to do “today” (literally “the day”) with the benefit for “all the days.”
  13. 1 Kings 12:8 tn Heb “He rejected the advice of the elders which they advised and he consulted the young men with whom he had grown up, who stood before him.” The referent (Rehoboam) of the initial pronoun (“he”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  14. 1 Kings 12:9 tn In the Hebrew text the verb “we will respond” is plural, although it can be understood as an editorial “we.” The ancient versions have the singular here.
  15. 1 Kings 12:9 tn Heb “Lighten the yoke which your father placed on us.”
  16. 1 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  17. 1 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”
  18. 1 Kings 12:10 tn Heb “My little one is thicker than my father’s hips.” The referent of “my little one” is not clear. The traditional view is that it refers to the little finger. As the following statement makes clear, Rehoboam’s point is that he is more harsh and demanding than his father.
  19. 1 Kings 12:11 tn Heb “and now my father placed upon you a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke.”
  20. 1 Kings 12:11 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” “Scorpions” might allude to some type of torture using poisonous insects, but more likely it refers to a type of whip that inflicts an especially biting, painful wound. Cf. CEV “whips with pieces of sharp metal.”
  21. 1 Kings 12:12 tn Heb “came.”
  22. 1 Kings 12:14 tn Heb “and spoke to them according to.”
  23. 1 Kings 12:14 tn Heb “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke.”
  24. 1 Kings 12:14 tn Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” See the note on the same phrase in v. 11.
  25. 1 Kings 12:15 tn Heb “because this turn of events was from the Lord.”
  26. 1 Kings 12:15 tn Heb “so that he might bring to pass his word which the Lord spoke.”
  27. 1 Kings 12:16 sn We have no portion in David; no share in the son of Jesse. Their point seems to be that they have no familial relationship with David that brings them any benefits or places upon them any obligations. They are being treated like outsiders.
  28. 1 Kings 12:16 tn Heb “to your tents, Israel.” The word “return” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  29. 1 Kings 12:16 tn Heb “Now see your house, David.”
  30. 1 Kings 12:16 tn Heb “went to their tents.”
  31. 1 Kings 12:18 tc The MT has “Adoram” here, but the Old Greek translation and Syriac Peshitta have “Adoniram.” Cf. 1 Kgs 4:6.
  32. 1 Kings 12:18 sn The work crews. See the note on this expression in 4:6.
  33. 1 Kings 12:20 tn Heb “there was no one [following] after the house of David except the tribe of Judah, it alone.”
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