1 Kings 12
1 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.
And king Roboam goes to Sikima; for all Israel were coming to Sikima to make him king.
2 When Jeroboam, who was still in Egypt, heard about that, he returned from Egypt [to Israel].
3 The [leaders of the northern tribes] summoned him, and they went together [to talk] to Rehoboam. They said to him,
And the people spoke to king Roboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy;
4 “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].”
but do thou now lighten somewhat of the hard service of thy father, and of his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve thee.
5 He replied, “Go away, and come back three days from now [and I will give you my answer].” So those leaders and Jeroboam left.
And he said to them, Depart for three days, and return to me. And they departed.
6 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?”
And the king referred [the matter] to the elders, who stood before Solomon his father while he was yet living, saying, How do ye advise that I should answer this people?
7 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.”
And they spoke to him, saying, If thou wilt this day be a servant to this people, and wilt serve them, and wilt speak to them good words, then will they be thy servants continually.
8 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).
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 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?”
And he said to them, What counsel do ye give? And what shall I answer to this people who speak to me, saying, Lighten somewhat of the yoke which thy father has put upon us?
10 They replied, “This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.
And the young men who had been brought up with him, who stood before his face, spoke to him, saying, Thus shalt thou say to this people who have spoken to thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and do thou now lighten it from off us: thus shalt say to them, My little [finger shall be] thicker than my father's loins.
11 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.’”
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 So three days later, Jeroboam and all the leaders came to Rehoboam again, as he had told them to do.
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 The king ignored the advice of the older men and spoke harshly to the Israeli leaders.
And the king answered the people harshly; and Roboam forsook the counsel of the old men which they counselled him.
14 [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!”
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 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].
And the king hearkened 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 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.
And all Israel saw that the king did not hearken 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 thy tents: now feed thine own house, David. So Israel departed to his tents.
17 And [after that, ] the [only Israeli] people whom Rehoboam ruled over were those who lived in the territory of [the tribe of] Judah.
18 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.
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 Ever since that time, the people of [the northern tribes of] Israel have been rebelling against the descendants [MTY] of [King] David.
So Israel rebelled against the house of David until this day.
20 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.
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 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.
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 But God spoke to the prophet Shemaiah and said this to him:
And the word of the Lord came to Samaia the man of God, saying,
23 “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:
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 ‘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.
Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, neither shall ye fight with your brethren the sons of Israel: return each man to his own home; for this thing is from me; and they hearkened to the word of the Lord, and they ceased from going up, according to the word of the Lord.
25 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.
And Jeroboam built Sikima in mount Ephraim and dwelt in it, and went forth thence and built Phanuel.
26 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.”
And Jeroboam said in his heart, Behold, now the kingdom will return to the house of David.
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 slay me.
28 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!]”
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 thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
29 He [told his workers to] place one of the statues in Bethel [city in the south] and one in Dan [city in the north].
And he put one in Bethel, and he put the other in Dan.
30 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.
And this thing became a sin; and the people went before one as far as Dan, and left the house of the Lord.
31 [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.
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 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.
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 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].
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.
