2 Chronicles 10
1 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king.
All the people of Israel went to Shechem [city] in order to appoint Rehoboam to be their king. So Rehoboam also went there.
2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard about this, he returned from Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon.
Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had fled to Egypt [to escape] from King Solomon. But when he heard [about the people wanting to appoint Rehoboam to be their king], he returned [to Israel] from Egypt
3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and all Israel came to Rehoboam and said,
So the [leaders of the northern tribes] summoned him, and he went with them [to talk] to Rehoboam. They said to Rehoboam,
4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you should lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
“Your father [Solomon] forced us to work very hard for him. If you 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 Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people departed.
He replied, “Come back three days from now [and I will give you my answer].” So those leaders [and Jeroboam] left.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How do you advise me to respond to these people?” he asked.
Then King Rehoboam consulted his older men who had advised his father Solomon while he was still alive. He asked them, “What shall I say to answer these men?”
7 They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and please them by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”
They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and do things that will please them, and if you say kind things to them when you answer them, they will always serve you.”
8 But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him.
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.
9 He asked them, “What message do you advise that we send back to these people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”
He said to them, “How should I answer the men who are asking me to reduce the [work and taxes] that my father required from them?”
10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “This is how you should answer these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you should make it lighter.’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!
The young men who had grown up with him replied, “[Those men] have said that your father forced them to work very hard for him, so they want you to reduce the [work and taxes] that your father required from them. But this is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.
11 Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’”
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 I will whip you with whips that have pieces of metal in them.’”
12 After three days, Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, since the king had said, “Come back to me on the third day.”
Three days later, Jeroboam and all the leaders came to King Rehoboam again, which is what he had told them to do.
13 And the king answered them harshly. King Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders
The king ignored the advice of the older men and spoke harshly to the Israeli leaders.
14 and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”
[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 So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from God, in order that the LORD might fulfill the word that He had spoken through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
So the king did not pay any attention to the Israeli leaders. But this happened in order that what Yahweh had told the prophet Ahijah about Jeroboam would happen.
16 When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So all the Israelites went home,
When the Israeli leaders realized that the king did not pay any attention to what they said, they shouted, “We do not 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, he can rule his own kingdom!” So the Israeli leaders returned to their homes.
17 but Rehoboam still reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah.
And [after that, the only Israeli] people whom Rehoboam ruled over were those who lived in the territory of [the tribes of] Judah [and Benjamin].
18 Then King Rehoboam sent out Hadoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste and escaped to Jerusalem.
Then King Rehoboam went with 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 So to this day Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David.
Ever since that time, [the people of the northern tribes of] Israel have been rebelling against the descendants of [King] David.
