1 Manghai 12
1 Rehoboam te manghai sak hamla Israel pum loh Shekhem la a pawk dongah anih khaw Shekhem la cet.
All [HYP] the people of [northern] Israel went to Shechem [city] in order to appoint Rehoboam to be their king. So Rehoboam also went there.
2 Te tla a om neh Nebat capa Jeroboam loh a yaak dae amah te Egypt ah om pueng. Manghai Solomon mikhmuh lamloh a yong phoeiah Jeroboam he Egypt ah kho a sak.
When Jeroboam, who was still in Egypt, heard about that, he returned from Egypt [to Israel].
3 Te vaengah a tah uh vanbangla a taengla a khue uh. Te dongah Jeroboam neh Israel hlangping boeih te cet tih a pha uh vaengah Rehoboam te a voek uh.
The [leaders of the northern tribes] summoned him, and they went together [to talk] to Rehoboam. They said to him,
4 “Na pa loh kaimih kah hnamkun he a siing coeng. Tedae namah loh na pa kah thohtatnah mangkhak lamloh, kaimih soah a hnamkun khak a khueh lamloh yanghoep sak laeh. Te daengah ni nang taengah ka thohtat uh eh,” a ti uh.
“Your father [Solomon] forced us to work very hard [MET] for him. If you (lighten these loads/do not force us to work that hard), and if you charge us less taxes than we were paying to him, we will serve you [faithfully].”
5 Tedae amih te, “Cet uh lamtah a thum hnin phoeiah ka taengla ha mael uh,” a ti nah tih pilnam khaw cet.
He replied, “Go away, and come back three days from now [and I will give you my answer].” So those leaders and Jeroboam left.
6 Te dongah manghai Rehoboam loh a ham rhoek te a dawt. Te rhoek te a napa Solomon amah a hingnah a om vaengkah a mikhmuh ah aka pai la om uh. Amih te, “Nangmih ta, he ol pilnam taengah metla metla mael ham khaw thui uh lah,” a ti nah.
Then King Rehoboam consulted the older men who had advised his father Solomon while he was still living. He asked them, “What shall I say to answer those men?”
7 A thui uh phoeiah amah te a voek uh tih, “Tahe khohnin ah pilnam taengah he sal la om mai lamtah amih taengah thotat mai. Amih te na doo vaengah a taengah ol then thui lamtah hnin takuem nang taengah sal la om bitni,” a ti na uh.
They replied, “If you want to serve your people well, speak kindly to those men when you reply to them. If you do that, your people will always serve you faithfully.”
8 Tedae a ham rhoek kah cilsuep a paek te a voeih. Amah neh aka pantai hang tih a mikhmuh ah aka pai camoe rhoek te a dawt.
But he ignored what the older men advised him to do. Instead, he consulted the younger men who had grown up with him, who were now (his advisors/the ones who told him what would be good to do).
9 Te vaengah amih te, “Kai taengah, 'Na pa loh kaimih soah a tloeng hnamkun lamloh n'yanghoep sak,’ a ti tih aka thui pilnam he ol mael ham metlam na thui eh?,” a ti nah.
He said to them, “What should I say to the men who are asking me to reduce the [work and taxes] that my father required from them?”
10 Te dongah anih te amah neh aka pantai hmaih camoe rhoek loh a doo uh tih, “Nang taengah cal uh tih, 'Na pa loh kaimih kah hnamkun a siing coeng dae nang loh kaimih dong lamkah hang hawl sak,’ aka ti pilnam taengah he he thui pah. Amih te, 'Ka kutca he a pa kah cinghen lakah putsut.
They replied, “This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.
11 A pa loh nangmih soah hnamkun a rhih a tloeng coeng. Tedae kai loh nangmih kah hnamkun te ka koei pueng ni. A pa loh nangmih te rhuihet neh n'toel dae kai loh nangmih te saelkhui ta-ai neh kan toel ni, 'ti tah,” a ti uh.
What I mean is that my father required you [to work hard and pay high taxes]. But I will make those loads heavier. [It was as though] my father whipped you, but [it will be as though] I will whip you with whips that have pieces of metal in them.’”
12 A caeh vaengah tah manghai loh a uen tih, “A thum hnin ah kai taengla ha mael uh,” a ti nah van bangla Jeroboam neh pilnam boeih te a thum hnin ah Rehoboam taengla pawk.
So three days later, Jeroboam and all the leaders came to Rehoboam again, as he had told them to do.
13 Te vaengah manghai loh pilnam te mat a voek tih a ham rhoek kah cilsuep a paek te khaw a voeih.
The king ignored the advice of the older men and spoke harshly to the Israeli leaders.
14 Te dongah camoe kah cilsuep bangla amih te a voek tih, “A pa loh nangmih kah hnamkun te a siing coeng. Tedae kai loh nangmih kah hnamkun te ka koei ni. A pa loh nangmih te rhuihet neh n'toel dae kai loh nangmih te saelkhui ta-ai neh kan toel ni,” a ti nah.
[He told them what the younger men had advised.] He said, “My father put heavy burdens [of work and taxes] on you, but I will put heavier burdens on you. [It was as though] he beat you with whips, but I will beat you with whips that have pieces of metal in them!”
15 BOEIPA loh Nebat capa Jeroboam ham Shiloh Ahijah kut lamloh a thui bangla, a ol te thoeng sak ham BOEIPA taeng lamloh sainah a om dongah ni, manghai loh pilnam taengkah a hnatun pawh.
So the king did not pay any attention to the Israeli leaders. But this happened in order that what Yahweh wanted would occur, what he had told the prophet Ahijah about Jeroboam [becoming king of the ten tribes].
16 Manghai loh amih taengkah hnatun pawt te Israel pum loh a hmuh. Te dongah pilnam loh manghai te ol a mael tih, “David khuiah kaimih kah khoyo te menim? Israel nang kah dap te Jesse koca khuikah rho moenih. David, na im hmu laeh he,” a ti uh. Te phoeiah Israel rhoek te a dap la cet uh.
When the Israeli leaders realized that the king did not pay any attention to what they said, they shouted, “We do not [RHQ] want anything to do with this descendant of King David! We will not pay attention to what this grandson of Jesse says! You people of Israel, let’s go home! As for this descendant of David [MTY], he can rule his own kingdom [MTY]!” So the Israeli leaders returned to their homes.
17 Te dongah Israel ca rhoek tah Judah khopuei rhoek ah kho a sak uh tih amih soah Rehoboam te manghai.
And [after that, ] the [only Israeli] people whom Rehoboam ruled over were those who lived in the territory of [the tribe of] Judah.
18 Te vaengah manghai Rehoboam loh saldong aka pai thil Adoram te a tueih hatah Israel pum loh anih te lungto neh a dae tih duek. Tedae manghai Rehoboam tah leng dongah luei ham huel uh tih Jerusalem la rhaelrham.
Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram [to talk to the Israeli people]. Adoniram was the man who supervised [all the men who were] forced to work [for Rehoboam]. But the Israeli people killed him by throwing stones at him. When that happened, King Rehoboam quickly got in his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem.
19 Te dong tahae khohnin duela Israel loh David imkhui boe a koek thil.
Ever since that time, the people of [the northern tribes of] Israel have been rebelling against the descendants [MTY] of [King] David.
20 Jeroboam a mael te Israel pum loh a yaak vaengah tah anih te a tah uh tih rhaengpuei taengla a khue uh. Te phoeiah anih te Israel boeih soah a manghai sakuh. Tedae Judah koca bueng phoeiah tah David imkhui hnukah a om moenih.
When the Israeli people heard that Jeroboam had returned [from Egypt], they invited him to come to a meeting, and there they appointed him to be the king of Israel. Only the people of the tribes of Judah [and Benjamin] continued to be loyal to [the kings descended from King] [MTY] David.
21 Rehoboam te cet tih Jerusalem a pha neh Judah imkhui pum te a coi. Israel imkhui vathoh thil ham neh ram te Solomon capa Rehoboam taengla mael sak ham caemtloek la aka tlun thai te a coelh. Te vaengah Benjamin koca he thawng yakhat neh thawng sawmrhet lo.
When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered 180,000 of the best soldiers from the tribes [MTY] of Judah and Benjamin. He wanted them to fight against the northern tribes of [MTY] Israel [and defeat them], in order that he could [rule all the tribes of] his kingdom again.
22 Tedae Pathen kah ol tah Pathen kah hlang Shemaiah taengla pawk tih,
But God spoke to the prophet Shemaiah and said this to him:
23 “Judah manghai Solomon capa Rehoboam taeng neh Judah imkhui pum taengah thui pah lamtah, Benjamin neh pilnam hlangrhuel taengah khaw thui pah.
“Go and tell this to [Solomon’s son] Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and to all the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and the people from the northern tribe who live in Judah:
24 BOEIPA loh he ni a. thui. Cet uh boeh, na manuca Israel ca rhoek te vathoh uh thil boeh. He ol he kamah taeng lamloh a om dongah hlang he amah im la mael saeh,” a ti nah. BOEIPA ol te a yaak vaengah tah BOEIPA ol bangla caeh ham mael uh.
‘Yahweh says that you must not go to fight against your own relatives, the people of Israel. All of you must go home. What has happened is what Yahweh wanted to happen.’” [So Shemaiah went and told that to them, ] and they all paid attention to what Yahweh had commanded them to do, and they went home.
25 Jeroboam loh Ephraim tlang ah Shekhem te a thoh tih a khuiah kho a sak. Te lamloh puen uh tih Penuel te a thoh.
Then Jeroboam’s workers built [walls around] Shechem [city] in the hilly area [where the descendants] of Ephraim [lived], and he ruled from there for a while. He and his workers then left there and went to Peniel [town], and they built walls around that town.
26 Te vaengah Jeroboam loh a lungbuei neh, “Ram he David imkhui la mael laeh mako.
Then Jeroboam said to himself, “If my people [continue to] go to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices to Yahweh at the temple there, soon they will again become loyal to Rehoboam, the king of Judah [DOU], and they will kill me.”
27 Pilnam he Jerusalem kah BOEIPA im ah hmueih nawn ham cet tih pilnam kah lungbuei he a boei Judah manghai Rehoboam taengla mael khaming. Te vaengah kai n'ngawn uh vetih Judah manghai Rehoboam taengla mael uh ni,” a ti.
28 Te dongah manghai loh a poek tih sui vaitoca rhoi te a saii. Te phoeiah amih te, “Jerusalem la caeh ham khaw nangmih ham rhaisang aih. Egypt khohmuen lamloh nang aka khuen Israel nang kah pathen rhoi he,” a ti nah.
So he consulted [his advisors, and then he did what they suggested]. He [told his workers to] make gold [statues of] two calves. Then he said to the people, “You have been going to Jerusalem [to worship] for a long time. It is a big trouble for you to continue going there. You people of Israel, look! These statues are the gods that brought our [ancestors] up from Egypt! [So you can worship these, here!]”
29 Te phoeiah pakhat te Bethel ah a khueh tih pakhat te Dan ah a khueh.
He [told his workers to] place one of the statues in Bethel [city in the south] and one in Dan [city in the north].
30 Pilnam he Dan hil a mikhmuh ah huek a caeh uh dongah hekah hno he tholhnah la om coeng.
So [what Jeroboam did caused] the people [to] sin. Some of them went and worshiped the calf at Bethel, and others went and worshiped the other calf at Dan.
31 Hmuensang kah im te a saii tih Levi koca lamkah aka om mueh khobawt pilnam lamkah te khosoih la a saii.
[Moses had declared that only men from the tribe of Levi would be priests, but] Jeroboam also told his workers to build shrines on hilltops, and then he appointed men who were not from the tribe of Levi to be priests.
32 Jeroboam loh a hla rhet dongkah hlasae hnin hlai nga vaengah te Judah kah khotue bangla khotue a phueng. Vaitoca taengah nawn ham a saii vanbangla Bethel kah a saii hmueihtuk dongah a khuen. Bethel ah khosoih rhoek te a pai sak tih hmuensang khaw a saii.
He also appointed Adonijah and two priests, Elishama and Jehoram. They had a celebration at the end of October, like the celebration [of Living in Temporary Shelters] that occurred in Judah [each year]. On the altar [that they built] in Bethel, he offered sacrifices to the gold statues of calves that they had made, and he stationed the priests there at the shrines that his workers had built.
33 Amah lungbuei lamkah bueng neh a thainawn hla dongkah, hla rhet hnin hlai nga vaengah Bethel kah a saii hmueihtuk dongah a nawn. Israel ca rhoek ham khotue a saii pah vaengah hmueih phum ham hmueihtuk te a paan.
Jeroboam went up to that altar on that day in October which he himself had chosen. There on that altar he burned incense [to be a sacrifice]. And he declared that the people should celebrate that festival [on that same day every year].
