2 Chronicles 10
1 And Rehoboam goes to Shechem, for all of Israel has come [to] Shechem to cause him to reign.
And Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had come together to make him king.
2 And it comes to pass, at Jeroboam son of Nebat—who [is] in Egypt because he has fled from the face of Solomon the king—hearing, that Jeroboam turns back out of Egypt;
And when Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had news of it, (for he was in Egypt where he had gone in flight from King Solomon, ) he came back from Egypt.
3 and they send and call for him, and Jeroboam comes in, and all of Israel, and they speak to Rehoboam, saying,
And they sent for him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came to Rehoboam and said,
4 “Your father made our yoke sharp, and now, make light [some] of the sharp service of your father, and [some] of his heavy yoke that he put on us, and we serve you.”
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.
5 And he says to them, “Yet three days—then return to me”; and the people go.
And he said to them, Come to me again after three days. So the people went away.
6 And King Rehoboam consults with the aged men who have been standing before his father Solomon in his being alive, saying, “How are you counseling to answer this people?”
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?
7 And they speak to him, saying, “If you become good to this people, and have been pleased with them, and spoken to them good words, then they have been servants to you [for] all the days.”
And they said to him, If you are kind to this people, pleasing them and saying good words to them, then they will be your servants for ever.
8 And he forsakes the counsel of the aged men that they counseled him, and consults with the boys who have grown up with him, those standing before him,
But he gave no attention to the opinion of the old men, but went to the young men of his generation who were waiting before him.
9 and he says to them, “What are you counseling, and we answer this people that have spoken to me, saying, Make light [some] of the yoke that your father put on us?”
And he 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?
10 And the boys who have grown up with him speak with him, saying, “Thus you say to the people who have spoken to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, and you, make light [some] of our yoke; thus you say to them, My little finger is thicker than the loins of my father;
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, but will you make it less; say to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's body;
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—with scorpions.”
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.
12 And Jeroboam comes in, and all the people, to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king spoke, saying, “Return to me on the third day.”
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had given orders, saying, Come to me again on the third day.
13 And the king answers them sharply, and King Rehoboam forsakes the counsel of the aged men,
And the king gave them a rough answer. So King Rehoboam gave no attention to the suggestion of the old men,
14 and speaks to them according to the counsel of the boys, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, and I add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, and I—with scorpions.”
But gave 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.
15 And the king has not listened to the people, for the revolution has been from God, for the sake of YHWH’s establishing His word that He spoke by the hand of Abijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.
So the king did not give ear to the people; for this came about by the purpose of God, so that the Lord might give effect to his word which he had said by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.
16 And all Israel have seen that the king has not listened to them, and the people send back [word to] the king, saying, “What portion do we have in David? Indeed, there is no inheritance in a son of Jesse; [go], each to your tents, O Israel! Now see your house, O David!” And all [in] Israel go to their tents.
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? every man to your tents, O Israel; now see to your house, David. So all Israel went to their tents.
17 As for the sons of Israel who are dwelling in the cities of Judah—Rehoboam reigns over them.
But Rehoboam was still king over those of the children of Israel who were living in the towns of Judah.
18 And King Rehoboam sends Hadoram, who [is] over the tribute, and the sons of Israel cast stones at him, and he dies; and King Rehoboam has strengthened himself to go up into a chariot to flee to Jerusalem;
Then 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.
19 and Israel transgresses against the house of David to this day.
So Israel was turned away from the family of David to this day.
