1 Kings 12

1 And Rehoboam goes to Shechem, for all Israel has come to Shechem to make him king.

And king Roboam goes to Sikima; for all Israel were coming to Sikima to make him king.

2 And it comes to pass, at Jeroboam son of Nebat’s hearing (and he [is] yet in Egypt where he has fled from the presence of Solomon the king, and Jeroboam dwells in Egypt),

3 that they send and call for him; and they come—Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel—and speak to Rehoboam, saying,

And the people spoke to king Roboam, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy;

4 “Your father hardened our yoke, and you, now, lighten [some] of the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke that he put on us, and we serve you.”

but do you now lighten somewhat of the hard service of your father, and of his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve you.

5 And he says to them, “Yet go [for] three days, and come back to me”; and the people go.

And he said to them, Depart for three days, and return to me. And they departed.

6 And King Rehoboam consults with the elderly who have been standing in the presence of his father Solomon, in his being alive, saying, “How are you counseling to answer this people?”

And the king referred [the matter] to the elders, who stood before Solomon his father while he was yet living, saying, How do you advise that I should answer this people?

7 And they speak to him, saying, “If, today, you are a servant of this people, and have served them, and answered them, and spoken good words to them, then they have been servants to you [for] all the days.”

And they spoke to him, saying, If you will this day be a servant to this people, and will serve them, and will speak to them good words, then will they be your servants continually.

8 And he forsakes the counsel of the elderly which they counseled him, and consults with the boys who have grown up with him, who are standing before him;

But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they gave him, and consulted with the young men who were brought up with him, who stood in his presence.

9 and he says to them, “What are you counseling, and we answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Lighten [some] of the yoke that your father put on us?”

And he said to them, What counsel do you give? And what shall I answer to this people who speak to me, saying, Lighten somewhat of the yoke which your father has put upon us?

10 And they speak to him—the boys who had grown up with him—saying, “Thus you say to this people who have spoken to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, and you, make [it] light on us; thus you speak to them, My little [finger] is thicker than the loins of my father;

And the young men who had been brought up with him, who stood before his face, spoke to him, saying, Thus shall you say to this people who have spoken to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, and do you now lighten it from off us: thus shall say to them, My little [finger shall be] thicker than my father's loins.

11 and now, my father laid a heavy yoke on you, and I add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, and I discipline you with scorpions.”

And whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I also will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

12 And they come—Jeroboam and all the people—to Rehoboam, on the third day, as the king had spoken, saying, “Come back to me on the third day.”

And all Israel came to king Roboam on the third day, as the king spoke to them, saying, Return to me on the third day.

13 And the king answers the people sharply, and forsakes the counsel of the elderly which they counseled him,

And the king answered the people harshly; and Roboam forsook the counsel of the old men which they counselled him.

14 and speaks to them, according to the counsel of the boys, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, and I add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, and I discipline you with scorpions”;

And he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

15 and the king did not listen to the people, for the revolution was from YHWH, in order to establish His word that YHWH spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

And the king listened not to the people, because the change was from the Lord, that he might establish his word which he spoke by Achia the Selonite concerning Jeroboam the son of Nabat.

16 And all Israel sees that the king has not listened to them, and the people send the king back word, saying, “What portion do we have in David? Indeed, there is no inheritance in the son of Jesse; [return] to your tents, O Israel; now see your house, O David!” And Israel goes to its tents.

And all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them: and the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we any inheritance in the son of Jessae. Depart, O Israel, to your tents: now feed your own house, David. So Israel departed to his tents.

17 As for the sons of Israel, those dwelling in the cities of Judah—Rehoboam reigns over them.

18 And King Rehoboam sends Adoram who [is] over the tribute, and all Israel casts stones at him, and he dies; and King Rehoboam has strengthened himself to go up into a chariot to flee to Jerusalem;

And the king sent Adoniram who was over the tribute; and they stoned him with stones, and he died: and king Roboam made haste to rise to flee to Jerusalem.

19 and Israel transgresses against the house of David to this day.

So Israel rebelled against the house of David until this day.

20 And it comes to pass, at all Israel hearing that Jeroboam has returned, that they send and call him to the congregation, and cause him to reign over all Israel; none has been after the house of David except the tribe of Judah alone.

And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned out of Egypt, that they sent and called him to the assembly, and they made him king over Israel: and none followed the house of David except the tribe of Juda and Benjamin only.

21 And Rehoboam comes to Jerusalem, and assembles all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors, to fight with the house of Israel, to bring back the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

And Roboam went into Jerusalem, and he assembled the congregation of Juda, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and twenty thousand young men, warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to recover the kingdom to Roboam the son of Solomon.

22 And the word of God is to Shemaiah a man of God, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to Samaia the man of God, saying,

23 “Speak to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people, saying,

Speak to Roboam the son of Solomon, king of Juda, and to all the house of Juda and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,

24 Thus said YHWH: You do not go up nor fight with your brothers the sons of Israel; let each return to his house, for this thing has been from Me”; and they hear the word of YHWH, and turn back to go according to the word of YHWH.

Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up, neither shall you fight with your brethren the sons of Israel: return each man to his own home; for this thing is from me; and they listened to the word of the Lord, and they ceased from going up, according to the word of the Lord.

25 And Jeroboam builds Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and dwells in it, and goes out there, and builds Penuel;

And Jeroboam built Sikima in mount Ephraim and lived in it, and went forth thence and built Phanuel.

26 and Jeroboam says in his heart, “Now the kingdom turns back to the house of David—

And Jeroboam said in his heart, Behold, now the kingdom will return to the house of David.

27 if this people goes up to make sacrifices in the house of YHWH in Jerusalem, then the heart of this people has turned back to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they have slain me, and turned back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

If this people shall go up to offer sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of the people will return to the Lord, and to their master, to Roboam king of Juda, and they will kill me.

28 And the king takes counsel, and makes two calves of gold, and says to them, “Enough of you from going up to Jerusalem; behold, your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

And the king took counsel, and went, and made two golden heifers, and said to the people, Let it suffice you to have gone [hitherto] to Jerusalem: behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

29 And he sets the one in Beth-El, and the other he has put in Dan,

And he put one in Bethel, and he put the other in Dan.

30 and this thing becomes a sin, and the people go before the one—to Dan.

And this thing became a sin; and the people went before one as far as Dan, and left the house of the Lord.

31 And he makes the house of high places, and makes priests from the extremities of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi;

And he made houses on the high places, and made priests of any part of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

32 and Jeroboam makes a festival in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival that [is] in Judah, and he offers on the altar—so he did in Beth-El—to sacrifice to the calves which he made, and he has appointed in Beth-El the priests of the high places that he made.

And Jeroboam appointed a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, according to the feast in the land of Juda;

33 And he offers up on the altar that he made in Beth-El, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month that he devised from his own heart, and he makes a festival for the sons of Israel, and offers on the altar—to make incense.

and went up to the altar which he made in Baethel to sacrifice to the heifers which he made, and he placed in Baethel the priests of the high places which he had made. And he went up to the altar which he had made, on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, at the feast which he devised out of his own heart; and he made a feast to the children of Israel, and went up to the altar to sacrifice.