1 Kings 12
1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for al Israel were come to Sheche, to make him king
Rehoboam went to Shechem because that is where the whole of Israel had gone to make him king.
2 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)
Jeroboam, son of Nebat, was still in Egypt when he heard about this. (He had run away to Egypt to escape from King Solomon and was living there.)
3 Then they sent and called him: and Ieroboam and all the Congregation of Israel came, and spake vnto Rehoboam, saying,
The Israelite leaders sent for him. Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israelites went to talk with Rehoboam.
4 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.
“Your father placed a heavy burden on us,” they told him. “But now if you lighten the load when we served your father and the heavy demands he put on us, we will serve you.”
5 And he said vnto them, Depart yet for three dayes, then come againe to me. And the people departed.
Rehoboam answered, “Go away and come back in three days time.” So the people left.
6 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?
King Rehoboam asked for advice from the elders who had served his father Solomon when he was alive. “How do you advise me to reply to these people about this?” he asked.
7 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.
They replied, “If you are a servant to these people today, if you serve them and answer them, by speaking kindly to them, they will always serve you.”
8 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.
But Rehoboam dismissed the advice of the elders. He instead asked advice from the young men who he had grown up with, and who were close to him.
9 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?
He asked them, “What response do you advise that we send back to these people who have told me, ‘Lighten the burden your father put on us’?”
10 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.
The young men who he had grown up with told him, “This is what you have to tell these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our burden heavy, but you should make it lighter.’ This is what you should answer them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's waist!
11 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.
My father placed a heavy burden on you, and I will make it even heavier. My father punished you with whips; I will punish you with scorpions.’”
12 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.
Three days later, Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, because the king had told them, “Come back in three days time.”
13 And the king answered the people sharpely, and left the old mens counsell that they gaue him,
The king answered the people sharply. Dismissing the advice of the elders,
14 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.
he replied using the advice of the young men. He said, “My father placed a heavy burden on you, and I will make it even heavier. My father punished you with whips; I will punish you with scorpions.”
15 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.
The king did not listen to what the people said, for this change in circumstances was from the Lord, to fulfill what the Lord had told Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
16 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.
When all the Israelites saw that the king wasn't listening to them, they told the king: “What share do we have in David, and what part do we have in the son of Jesse? Go home, Israel! You're on your own, house of David!” So all the Israelites went home.
17 Howbeit ouer the children of Israel, which dwelt in the cities of Iudah, did Rehoboam reigne still.
However, Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites who lived in Judah.
18 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.
Then King Rehoboam sent out Hadoram, who was in charge of forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. King Rehoboam quickly jumped into his chariot and raced back to Jerusalem.
19 And Israel rebelled against the house of Dauid vnto this day.
As a result, Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
20 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.
When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent for him, summoning him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah was left to the house of David.
21 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.
When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered the men from the households of Judah and Benjamin— 180,000 chosen warriors—to go and fight against Israel to bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam, son of Solomon.
22 But the worde of God came vnto Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
But a message from the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God that said,
23 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,
“Tell Rehoboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah, to Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people:
24 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.
‘This is what the Lord says. Don't fight against your Israelite relatives. Every one of you, go home! For it was me that made this happen.’” So they obeyed what the Lord told them and went home, as the Lord had said.
25 Then Ieroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein, and went from thence, and built Penuel.
Jeroboam strengthened the town of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went and built Penuel.
26 And Ieroboam thought in his heart, Nowe shall the kingdome returne to the house of Dauid.
Jeroboam said to himself, “The kingdom could easily return to the house of David.
27 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.
When people from here go to offer sacrifices at the Lord's Temple in Jerusalem, they will transfer their loyalty back to Rehoboam, king of Judah. Then they will kill me and go back to King Rehoboam.”
28 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.
So after taking advice, the king had two golden calves made, and he told the people, “Don't bother going to Jerusalem any more. Look, Israel, here are your gods who led you out of the land of Egypt.”
29 And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other set he in Dan.
He placed one in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
30 And this thing turned to sinne: for the people went (because of the one) euen to Dan.
This action brought about sin, because the people went as far north as Dan to worship the idol there.
31 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.
In addition Jeroboam had shrines built on high places and appointed as priests all kinds of people who were not Levites.
32 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.
Jeroboam initiated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, just like the festival held in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. He made this offering in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made, and appointed priests in Bethel for the high places he had built.
33 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.
So on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month he had chosen himself, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. In this way he instituted a festival for the Israelites, offering sacrifices on the altar and burning incense.
