列王纪上 12
1 罗波安往示剑去；因为以色列人都到了示剑要立他作王。
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 尼八的儿子耶罗波安先前躲避所罗门王，逃往埃及，住在那里（他听见这事。）
When Jeroboam, who was still in Egypt, heard about that, he returned from Egypt [to Israel].
3 以色列人打发人去请他来，他就和以色列会众都来见罗波安，对他说：
The [leaders of the northern tribes] summoned him, and they went together [to talk] to Rehoboam. They said to him,
4 “你父亲使我们负重轭，做苦工，现在求你使我们做的苦工、负的重轭轻松些，我们就事奉你。”
“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 罗波安对他们说：“你们暂且去，第三日再来见我。”民就去了。
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 罗波安之父所罗门在世的日子，有侍立在他面前的老年人，罗波安王和他们商议，说：“你们给我出个什么主意，我好回复这民。”
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 老年人对他说：“现在王若服事这民如仆人，用好话回答他们，他们就永远作王的仆人。”
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 王却不用老年人给他出的主意，就和那些与他一同长大、在他面前侍立的少年人商议，
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 说：“这民对我说：‘你父亲使我们负重轭，求你使我们轻松些。’你们给我出个什么主意，我好回复他们。”
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 那同他长大的少年人说：“这民对王说：‘你父亲使我们负重轭，求你使我们轻松些。’王要对他们如此说：‘我的小拇指头比我父亲的腰还粗。
They replied, “This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.
11 我父亲使你们负重轭，我必使你们负更重的轭！我父亲用鞭子责打你们，我要用蝎子鞭责打你们！’”
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 耶罗波安和众百姓遵着罗波安王所说“你们第三日再来见我”的那话，第三日他们果然来了。
So three days later, Jeroboam and all the leaders came to Rehoboam again, as he had told them to do.
13 王用严厉的话回答百姓，不用老年人给他所出的主意，
The king ignored the advice of the older men and spoke harshly to the Israeli leaders.
14 照着少年人所出的主意对民说：“我父亲使你们负重轭，我必使你们负更重的轭！我父亲用鞭子责打你们，我要用蝎子鞭责打你们！”
[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 王不肯依从百姓，这事乃出于耶和华，为要应验他借示罗人亚希雅对尼八的儿子耶罗波安所说的话。
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 以色列众民见王不依从他们，就对王说： 我们与大卫有什么分儿呢？ 与耶西的儿子并没有关涉。 以色列人哪，各回各家去吧！ 大卫家啊，自己顾自己吧！ 于是，以色列人都回自己家里去了，
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 惟独住犹大城邑的以色列人，罗波安仍作他们的王。
And [after that, ] the [only Israeli] people whom Rehoboam ruled over were those who lived in the territory of [the tribe of] Judah.
18 罗波安王差遣掌管服苦之人的亚多兰往以色列人那里去，以色列人就用石头打死他。罗波安王急忙上车，逃回耶路撒冷去了。
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 这样，以色列人背叛大卫家，直到今日。
Ever since that time, the people of [the northern tribes of] Israel have been rebelling against the descendants [MTY] of [King] David.
20 以色列众人听见耶罗波安回来了，就打发人去请他到会众面前，立他作以色列众人的王。除了犹大支派以外，没有顺从大卫家的。
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 罗波安来到耶路撒冷，招聚犹大全家和便雅悯支派的人共十八万，都是挑选的战士，要与以色列家争战，好将国夺回，再归所罗门的儿子罗波安。
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 但 神的话临到神人示玛雅，说：
But God spoke to the prophet Shemaiah and said this to him:
23 “你去告诉所罗门的儿子犹大王罗波安和犹大、便雅悯全家，并其余的民说：
“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 ‘耶和华如此说：你们不可上去与你们的弟兄以色列人争战。各归各家去吧！因为这事出于我。’”众人就听从耶和华的话，遵着耶和华的命回去了。
‘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 耶罗波安在以法莲山地建筑示剑，就住在其中；又从示剑出去，建筑毗努伊勒。
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 耶罗波安心里说：“恐怕这国仍归大卫家；
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 这民若上耶路撒冷去，在耶和华的殿里献祭，他们的心必归向他们的主—犹大王罗波安，就把我杀了，仍归犹大王罗波安。”
28 耶罗波安王就筹划定妥，铸造了两个金牛犊，对众民说：“以色列人哪，你们上耶路撒冷去实在是难；这就是领你们出埃及地的神。”
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 他就把牛犊一只安在伯特利，一只安在但。
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 这事叫百姓陷在罪里，因为他们往但去拜那牛犊。
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 耶罗波安在邱坛那里建殿，将那不属利未人的凡民立为祭司。
[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 耶罗波安定八月十五日为节期，像在犹大的节期一样，自己上坛献祭。他在伯特利也这样向他所铸的牛犊献祭，又将立为邱坛的祭司安置在伯特利。
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 他在八月十五日，就是他私自所定的月日，为以色列人立作节期的日子，在伯特利上坛烧香。
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].
