1 Kings 12

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

And Rehobo'am went to Shechem; for all Israel were come to Shechem 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 it came to pass, when Jerobo'am the son of Nebat, heard of it, (but he was yet in Egypt, whither he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jerobo'am dwelt in Egypt;

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

And they had sent and called him; ) that Jerobo'am and all the congregation of Israel came, and spoke unto Rehobo'am, 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 hard; but do thou now make lighter the hard service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve 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 unto them, Go away yet for three days, and then return to me. And the people went away.

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?

Then consulted king Rehobo'am with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I should give an answer 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 spoke unto him, saying, If thou wilt this day be a servant unto this people, and wilt serve them, and be attentive to them, and speak to them good words; then will they be servants unto thee for all times.

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 forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, those who stood before 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 unto them, What do you counsel how we should give an answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make lighter the yoke which thy father did put upon us?

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 spoke unto him the young men that were grown up with him, saying, Thus must thou say unto this people that have spoken unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but do thou make it lighter unto us: thus must thou speak unto them, My little finger is thicker than my father's loins.

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.

And now, if my father hath burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will even add to your yoke; if my father hath chastised you with whips, then will I chastise you with scorpion-thorns.

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.

When now Jerobo'am and all the people came to Rehobo'am on the third day, as the king had spoken, saying, Return to me on the third day.

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

The king answered the people harshly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they had advised 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 he spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will even add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpion-thorns.

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.

Thus the king hearkened not unto the people; for it was so brought about from the Lord, in order that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord had spoken by means of Achiyah the Shilonite unto Jerobo'am the son 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 saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people gave the king an answer saying, What portion have we in David? nor have we an inheritance in the son of Jesse; to your tents, O Israel: now see to thy own house, David. So did Israel go away unto their tents.

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

But as for the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, over them did Rehobo'am reign.

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.

Then sent king Rehobo'am Adoram, who was over the tribute; but all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehobo'am made speed with all his might to get up into his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

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

So did Israel rebel against the house of David unto 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 it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jerobo'am was returned, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, save the tribe of Judah alone.

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 Rehobo'am was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring back the kingdom to Rehobo'am the son of Solomon.

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

But the word of God came unto Shema'yah 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:

Say unto Rehobo'am, the son of Solomon, the king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to 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 hath said the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight with your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for from me hath this thing been brought about. And they hearkened to the word of the Lord, and returned to go home, according to the word 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.

And Jerobo'am built Shechem in the mountain of Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and he went out from there and built Penuel.

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

And Jerobo'am said in his heart, Now may the kingdom return to the house of David:

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 go up to prepare sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then may the heart of this people turn again unto their Lord, even unto Rehobo'am the king of Judah, and they might kill me, and return to Rehobo'am the king of Judah.

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 took counsel, and he made two calves of gold, and said unto the people, You have been long enough going up to Jerusalem: behold, here are thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

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

And he placed the one in Beth-el, and the other put 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 became a sin; and the people went before the one, as far as Dan.

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

And he made a house of the high-places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

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 Jerobo'am made a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar; so did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he stationed at Beth-el the priests of the high-places whom 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.

So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had falsely devised of his own heart; and he ordained a feast unto the children of Israel, and he went up to the altar, to burn incense.