1 Kings 12

1 and to go: went Rehoboam Shechem for Shechem to come (in): come all Israel to/for to reign [obj] him

All [HYP] the people of [northern] Israel went to Shechem [city] in order to appoint Rehoboam to be their king. So Rehoboam also went there.

2 and to be like/as to hear: hear Jeroboam son: child Nebat and he/she/it still he in/on/with Egypt which to flee from face: because [the] king Solomon and to dwell Jeroboam in/on/with Egypt

When Jeroboam, who was still in Egypt, heard about that, he returned from Egypt [to Israel].

3 and to send: depart and to call: call to to/for him (and to come (in): come *Q(K)*) Jeroboam and all assembly Israel and to speak: speak to(wards) Rehoboam to/for to say

The [leaders of the northern tribes] summoned him, and they went together [to talk] to Rehoboam. They said to him,

4 father your to harden [obj] yoke our and you(m. s.) now to lighten from service father your [the] severe and from yoke his [the] heavy which to give: put upon us and to serve you

“Your father [Solomon] forced us to work very hard [MET] for him. If you (lighten these loads/do not force us to work that hard), and if you charge us less taxes than we were paying to him, we will serve you [faithfully].”

5 and to say to(wards) them to go: went still three day and to return: again to(wards) me and to go: went [the] people

He replied, “Go away, and come back three days from now [and I will give you my answer].” So those leaders and Jeroboam left.

6 and to advise [the] king Rehoboam with [the] old which to be to stand: stand with face: before Solomon father his in/on/with to be he alive to/for to say how? you(m. p.) to advise to/for to return: reply [obj] [the] people [the] this word

Then King Rehoboam consulted the older men who had advised his father Solomon while he was still living. He asked them, “What shall I say to answer those men?”

7 (and to speak: speak *Q(K)*) to(wards) him to/for to say if [the] day to be servant/slave to/for people [the] this and to serve them and to answer them and to speak: speak to(wards) them word pleasant and to be to/for you servant/slave all [the] day: always

They replied, “If you want to serve your people well, speak kindly to those men when you reply to them. If you do that, your people will always serve you faithfully.”

8 and to leave: forsake [obj] counsel [the] old which to advise him and to advise with [the] youth which to magnify with him which [the] to stand: stand to/for face: before his

But he ignored what the older men advised him to do. Instead, he consulted the younger men who had grown up with him, who were now (his advisors/the ones who told him what would be good to do).

9 and to say to(wards) them what? you(m. p.) to advise and to return: reply word [obj] [the] people [the] this which to speak: speak to(wards) me to/for to say to lighten from [the] yoke which to give: put father your upon us

He said to them, “What should I say to the men who are asking me to reduce the [work and taxes] that my father required from them?”

10 and to speak: speak to(wards) him [the] youth which to magnify with him to/for to say thus to say to/for people [the] this which to speak: speak to(wards) you to/for to say father your to honor: heavy [obj] yoke our and you(m. s.) to lighten from upon us thus to speak: speak to(wards) them little finger my to thicken from loin father my

They replied, “This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.

11 and now father my to lift upon you yoke heavy and I to add upon yoke your father my to discipline [obj] you in/on/with whip and I to discipline [obj] you in/on/with scorpion

What I mean is that my father required you [to work hard and pay high taxes]. But I will make those loads heavier. [It was as though] my father whipped you, but [it will be as though] I will whip you with whips that have pieces of metal in them.’”

12 (and to come (in): come *Q(k)*) Jeroboam and all [the] people to(wards) Rehoboam in/on/with day [the] third like/as as which to speak: speak [the] king to/for to say to return: again to(wards) me in/on/with day [the] third

So three days later, Jeroboam and all the leaders came to Rehoboam again, as he had told them to do.

13 and to answer [the] king [obj] [the] people severe and to leave: forsake [obj] counsel [the] old which to advise him

The king ignored the advice of the older men and spoke harshly to the Israeli leaders.

14 and to speak: speak to(wards) them like/as counsel [the] youth to/for to say father my to honor: heavy [obj] yoke your and I to add upon yoke your father my to discipline [obj] you in/on/with whip and I to discipline [obj] you in/on/with scorpion

[He told them what the younger men had advised.] He said, “My father put heavy burdens [of work and taxes] on you, but I will put heavier burdens on you. [It was as though] he beat you with whips, but I will beat you with whips that have pieces of metal in them!”

15 and not to hear: hear [the] king to(wards) [the] people for to be turn from from with LORD because to arise: establish [obj] word his which to speak: speak LORD in/on/with hand: by Ahijah [the] Shilonite to(wards) Jeroboam son: child Nebat

So the king did not pay any attention to the Israeli leaders. But this happened in order that what Yahweh wanted would occur, what he had told the prophet Ahijah about Jeroboam [becoming king of the ten tribes].

16 and to see: see all Israel for not to hear: hear [the] king to(wards) them and to return: reply [the] people [obj] [the] king word to/for to say what? to/for us portion in/on/with David and not inheritance in/on/with son: child Jesse to/for tent your Israel now to see: see house: household your David and to go: went Israel to/for tent his

When the Israeli leaders realized that the king did not pay any attention to what they said, they shouted, “We do not [RHQ] want anything to do with this descendant of King David! We will not pay attention to what this grandson of Jesse says! You people of Israel, let’s go home! As for this descendant of David [MTY], he can rule his own kingdom [MTY]!” So the Israeli leaders returned to their homes.

17 and son: descendant/people Israel [the] to dwell in/on/with city Judah and to reign upon them Rehoboam

And [after that, ] the [only Israeli] people whom Rehoboam ruled over were those who lived in the territory of [the tribe of] Judah.

18 and to send: depart [the] king Rehoboam [obj] Adoram which upon [the] taskworker and to stone all Israel in/on/with him stone and to die and [the] king Rehoboam to strengthen to/for to ascend: copulate in/on/with chariot to/for to flee Jerusalem

Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram [to talk to the Israeli people]. Adoniram was the man who supervised [all the men who were] forced to work [for Rehoboam]. But the Israeli people killed him by throwing stones at him. When that happened, King Rehoboam quickly got in his chariot and escaped to Jerusalem.

19 and to transgress Israel in/on/with house: household David till [the] day: today [the] this

Ever since that time, the people of [the northern tribes of] Israel have been rebelling against the descendants [MTY] of [King] David.

20 and to be like/as to hear: hear all Israel for to return: return Jeroboam and to send: depart and to call: call to [obj] him to(wards) [the] congregation and to reign [obj] him upon all Israel not to be after house: household David exception tribe Judah to/for alone him

When the Israeli people heard that Jeroboam had returned [from Egypt], they invited him to come to a meeting, and there they appointed him to be the king of Israel. Only the people of the tribes of Judah [and Benjamin] continued to be loyal to [the kings descended from King] [MTY] David.

21 (and to come (in): come *Q(K)*) Rehoboam Jerusalem and to gather [obj] all house: household Judah and [obj] tribe Benjamin hundred and eighty thousand to choose to make: [do] battle to/for to fight with house: household Israel to/for to return: rescue [obj] [the] kingship to/for Rehoboam son: child Solomon

When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered 180,000 of the best soldiers from the tribes [MTY] of Judah and Benjamin. He wanted them to fight against the northern tribes of [MTY] Israel [and defeat them], in order that he could [rule all the tribes of] his kingdom again.

22 and to be word [the] God to(wards) Shemaiah man [the] God to/for to say

But God spoke to the prophet Shemaiah and said this to him:

23 to say to(wards) Rehoboam son: child Solomon king Judah and to(wards) all house: household Judah and Benjamin and remainder [the] people to/for to say

“Go and tell this to [Solomon’s son] Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and to all the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and the people from the northern tribe who live in Judah:

24 thus to say LORD not to ascend: rise and not to fight [emph?] with brother: male-relative your son: descendant/people Israel to return: return man: anyone to/for house: home his for from with me to be [the] word: thing [the] this and to hear: hear [obj] word LORD and to return: again to/for to go: went like/as word LORD

‘Yahweh says that you must not go to fight against your own relatives, the people of Israel. All of you must go home. What has happened is what Yahweh wanted to happen.’” [So Shemaiah went and told that to them, ] and they all paid attention to what Yahweh had commanded them to do, and they went home.

25 and to build Jeroboam [obj] Shechem in/on/with mountain: hill country Ephraim and to dwell in/on/with her and to come out: come from there and to build [obj] Peniel

Then Jeroboam’s workers built [walls around] Shechem [city] in the hilly area [where the descendants] of Ephraim [lived], and he ruled from there for a while. He and his workers then left there and went to Peniel [town], and they built walls around that town.

26 and to say Jeroboam in/on/with heart his now to return: return [the] kingdom to/for house: household David

Then Jeroboam said to himself, “If my people [continue to] go to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices to Yahweh at the temple there, soon they will again become loyal to Rehoboam, the king of Judah [DOU], and they will kill me.”

27 if to ascend: rise [the] people [the] this to/for to make: offer sacrifice in/on/with house: temple LORD in/on/with Jerusalem and to return: again heart [the] people [the] this to(wards) lord their to(wards) Rehoboam king Judah and to kill me and to return: return to(wards) Rehoboam king Judah

28 and to advise [the] king and to make two calf gold and to say to(wards) them many to/for you from to ascend: rise Jerusalem behold God your Israel which to ascend: establish you from land: country/planet Egypt

So he consulted [his advisors, and then he did what they suggested]. He [told his workers to] make gold [statues of] two calves. Then he said to the people, “You have been going to Jerusalem [to worship] for a long time. It is a big trouble for you to continue going there. You people of Israel, look! These statues are the gods that brought our [ancestors] up from Egypt! [So you can worship these, here!]”

29 and to set: make [obj] [the] one in/on/with Bethel Bethel and [obj] [the] one to give: put in/on/with Dan

He [told his workers to] place one of the statues in Bethel [city in the south] and one in Dan [city in the north].

30 and to be [the] word: thing [the] this to/for sin and to go: went [the] people to/for face: before [the] one till Dan

So [what Jeroboam did caused] the people [to] sin. Some of them went and worshiped the calf at Bethel, and others went and worshiped the other calf at Dan.

31 and to make [obj] house: home high place and to make: do priest from end [the] people which not to be from son: descendant/people Levi

[Moses had declared that only men from the tribe of Levi would be priests, but] Jeroboam also told his workers to build shrines on hilltops, and then he appointed men who were not from the tribe of Levi to be priests.

32 and to make Jeroboam feast in/on/with month [the] eighth in/on/with five ten day to/for month like/as feast which in/on/with Judah and to ascend: offer up upon [the] altar so to make: do in/on/with Bethel Bethel to/for to sacrifice to/for calf which to make and to stand: put in/on/with Bethel Bethel [obj] priest [the] high place which to make

He also appointed Adonijah and two priests, Elishama and Jehoram. They had a celebration at the end of October, like the celebration [of Living in Temporary Shelters] that occurred in Judah [each year]. On the altar [that they built] in Bethel, he offered sacrifices to the gold statues of calves that they had made, and he stationed the priests there at the shrines that his workers had built.

33 and to ascend: rise upon [the] altar which to make in/on/with Bethel Bethel in/on/with five ten day in/on/with month [the] eighth in/on/with month which to devise (from heart his *Q(K)*) and to make: do feast to/for son: descendant/people Israel and to ascend: rise upon [the] altar to/for to offer: offer

Jeroboam went up to that altar on that day in October which he himself had chosen. There on that altar he burned incense [to be a sacrifice]. And he declared that the people should celebrate that festival [on that same day every year].