1 Kings 12

1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had come together to make him king,

And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for al Israel were come to Sheche, to make him king

2 And, hearing of it, Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who was still in Egypt, where he had gone in flight from Solomon, and was living there, came back to his town Zeredah, in the hill-country of Ephraim;

And whe Ieroboam ye sonne of Nebat heard of it (who was yet in Egypt, whither Ieroboam had fled from king Salomon, and dwelt in Egypt)

3 And all the men of Israel came to Rehoboam and said,

Then they sent and called him: and Ieroboam and all the Congregation of Israel came, and spake vnto Rehoboam, saying,

4 Your father put a hard yoke on us: if you will make the conditions under which your father kept us down less cruel, and the weight of the yoke he put on us less hard, then we will be your servants.

Thy father made our yoke grieuous: now therefore make thou the grieuous seruitude of thy father, and his sore yoke which he put vpon vs, lighter, and we will serue thee.

5 And he said to them, Go away for three days and then come back to me again. So the people went away.

And he said vnto them, Depart yet for three dayes, then come againe to me. And the people departed.

6 Then King Rehoboam took the opinion of the old men who had been with Solomon his father when he was living, and said, In your opinion, what answer am I to give to this people?

And King Rehoboam tooke counsell with the olde men that had stande before Salomon his father, while he yet liued, and sayde, What counsell giue ye, that I may make an answere to this people?

7 And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people today, caring for them and giving them a gentle answer, then they will be your servants for ever.

And they spake vnto him, saying, If thou be a seruant vnto this people this day, and serue them, and answere them, and speake kinde wordes to them, they will be thy seruants for euer.

8 But he gave no attention to the opinion of the old men, and went to the young men of his generation who were waiting before him:

But he forsooke the counsell that the olde men had giuen him, and asked counsell of the yong men that had bene brought vp with him, and waited on him.

9 And said to them, What is your opinion? What answer are we to give to this people who have said to me, Make less the weight of the yoke which your father put on us?

And he said vnto them, What counsell giue ye, that we may answere this people, which haue spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke, which thy father did put vpon vs, lighter?

10 And the young men of his generation said to him, This is the answer to give to the people who came to you saying, Your father put a hard yoke on us; will you make it less? say to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's body;

Then the yong men that were brought vp with him, spake vnto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say vnto this people, that haue spoken vnto thee, and said, Thy father hath made our yoke heauie, but make thou it lighter vnto vs: euen thus shalt thou say vnto them, My least part shalbe bigger then my fathers loynes.

11 If my father put a hard yoke on you, I will make it harder: my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give you blows with snakes.

Now where as my father did burden you with a grieuous yoke, I will yet make your yoke heauier: my father hath chastised you with rods, but I will correct you with scourges.

12 So all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had given orders, saying, Come back to me the third day.

Then Ieroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me againe ye thirde day.

13 And the king gave them a rough answer, giving no attention to the suggestion of the old men;

And the king answered the people sharpely, and left the old mens counsell that they gaue him,

14 But giving them the answer put forward by the young men, saying, My father made your yoke hard, but I will make it harder; my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give it with snakes.

And spake to them after the counsell of the yong men, saying, My father made your yoke grieuous, and I will make your yoke more grieuous: my father hath chastised you with rods, but I will correct you with scourges.

15 So the king did not give ear to the people; and this came about by the purpose of the Lord, so that what he had said by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam, son of Nebat, might be effected.

And the King hearkened not vnto the people: for it was the ordinance of the Lord, that he might perfourme his saying, which the Lord had spoken by Ahiiah the Shilonite vnto Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat.

16 And when all Israel saw that the king would give no attention to them, the people in answer said to the king, What part have we in David? what is our heritage in the son of Jesse? to your tents, O Israel; now see to your people, David. So Israel went away to their tents.

So when all Israel sawe that the King regarded them not, the people answered the King thus, saying, What portion haue we in Dauid? we haue none inheritance in the sonne of Ishai. To your tents, O Israel: nowe see to thine owne house, Dauid. So Israel departed vnto their tents.

17 (But Rehoboam was still king over those of the children of Israel who were living in the towns of Judah.)

Howbeit ouer the children of Israel, which dwelt in the cities of Iudah, did Rehoboam reigne still.

18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, the overseer of the forced work; and he was stoned to death by all Israel. And King Rehoboam went quickly and got into his carriage to go in flight to Jerusalem.

Nowe the King Rehoboam sent Adoram the receiuer of the tribute, and all Israel stoned him to death: then King Rehoboam made speede to get him vp to his charet, to flee to Ierusalem.

19 So Israel was turned away from the family of David to this day.

And Israel rebelled against the house of Dauid vnto this day.

20 Now when all Israel had news that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him to come before the meeting of the people, and made him king over Israel: not one of them was joined to the family of David but only the tribe of Judah.

And when all Israel had heard that Ieroboam was come againe, they sent and called him vnto the assemblie, and made him King ouer all Israel: none followed the house of Dauid, but the tribe of Iudah onely.

21 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he got together all the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand of his best fighting-men, to make war against Israel and get the kingdom back for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.

And when Rehoboam was come to Ierusalem, he gathered all the house of Iudah with the tribe of Beniamin an hundreth and foure score thousand of chosen men (which were good warriours) to fight against the house of Israel, and to bring the kingdome againe to Rehoboam the sonne of Salomon.

22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,

But the worde of God came vnto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

23 Say to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the men of Judah and Benjamin and the rest of the people:

Speake vnto Rehoboam the sonne of Salomon King of Iudah, and vnto all the house of Iudah and Beniamin, and the remnant of the people, saying,

24 The Lord has said, You are not to go to war against your brothers, the children of Israel; go back, every man to his house, because this thing is my purpose. So they gave ear to the word of the Lord, and went back, as the Lord had said.

Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go vp, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: returne euery man to his house: for this thing is done by me. They obeyed therefore the worde of the Lord and returned, and departed, according to the worde of the Lord.

25 Then Jeroboam made the town of Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim a strong place, and was living there; and from there he went out and did the same to Penuel.

Then Ieroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein, and went from thence, and built Penuel.

26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will go back to the family of David:

And Ieroboam thought in his heart, Nowe shall the kingdome returne to the house of Dauid.

27 If the people go up to make offerings in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, their heart will be turned again to their lord, to Rehoboam, king of Judah; and they will put me to death and go back to Rehoboam, king of Judah.

If this people goe vp and doe sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Ierusalem, then shall the heart of this people turne againe vnto their lorde, euen to Rehoboam King of Iudah: so shall they kill me and goe againe to Rehoboam King of Iudah.

28 So after taking thought the king made two oxen of gold; and he said to the people, You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough; see! these are your gods, O Israel, who took you out of the land of Egypt.

Whereupon the King tooke counsell, and made two calues of golde, and saide vnto them, It is too much for you to goe vp to Ierusalem: beholde, O Israel, thy gods, which brought thee vp out of the lande of Egypt.

29 And he put one in Beth-el and the other in Dan.

And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other set he in Dan.

30 And this became a sin in Israel; for the people went to give worship to the one at Beth-el, and to the other at Dan.

And this thing turned to sinne: for the people went (because of the one) euen to Dan.

31 And he made places for worship at the high places, and made priests, who were not Levites, from among all the people.

Also he made an house of hie places, and made Priestes of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sonnes of Leui.

32 And Jeroboam gave orders for a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is kept in Judah, and he went up to the altar. And in the same way, in Beth-el, he gave offerings to the oxen which he had made, placing in Beth-el the priests of the high places he had made.

And Ieroboam made a feast the fifteenth day of the eight moneth, like vnto the feast that is in Iudah, and offred on the altar. So did he in Beth-el and offered vnto the calues that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the Priestes of the hie places, which he had made.

33 He went up to the altar he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the month fixed by him at his pleasure; and he gave orders for a feast for the people of Israel, and went up to the altar, and there he made the smoke of his offerings go up.

And he offered vpon the altar, which he had made in Beth-el, the fifteenth day of the eight moneth, (euen in the moneth which he had forged of his owne heart) and made a solemne feast vnto the children of Israel: and he went vp to the altar, to burne incense.