2 Chronicles 10
1 All the people of Israel went to Shechem [city] in order to appoint Rehoboam to be their king. So Rehoboam also went there.
And Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had come together to make him king.
2 Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had fled to Egypt [to escape] from King Solomon. But when he heard [about the people wanting to appoint Rehoboam to be their king], he returned [to Israel] from 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 So the [leaders of the northern tribes] summoned him, and he went with them [to talk] to Rehoboam. They said to Rehoboam,
And they sent for him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came to Rehoboam and said,
4 “Your father [Solomon] forced us to work very hard for him. If you 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].”
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 He replied, “Come back three days from now [and I will give you my answer].” So those leaders [and Jeroboam] left.
And he said to them, Come to me again after three days. So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted his older men who had advised his father Solomon while he was still alive. He asked them, “What shall I say to answer these men?”
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 They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and do things that will please them, and if you say kind things to them when you answer them, they will always serve you.”
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 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.
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 He said to them, “How should I answer the men who are asking me to reduce the [work and taxes] that my father required from them?”
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 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “[Those men] have said that your father forced them to work very hard for him, so they want you to reduce the [work and taxes] that your father required from them. But this is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.
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 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 I will whip you with whips that have pieces of metal in them.’”
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 Three days later, Jeroboam and all the leaders came to King Rehoboam again, which is what he had told them to do.
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 The king ignored the advice of the older men and spoke harshly to the Israeli leaders.
And the king gave them a rough answer. So King Rehoboam gave no attention to the suggestion of the old men,
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!”
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 So the king did not pay any attention to the Israeli leaders. But this happened in order that what Yahweh had told the prophet Ahijah about Jeroboam would happen.
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 When the Israeli leaders realized that the king did not pay any attention to what they said, they shouted, “We do not 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, he can rule his own kingdom!” So the Israeli leaders returned to their homes.
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 And [after that, the only Israeli] people whom Rehoboam ruled over were those who lived in the territory of [the tribes of] Judah [and Benjamin].
But Rehoboam was still king over those of the children of Israel who were living in the towns of Judah.
18 Then King Rehoboam went with 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.
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 Ever since that time, [the people of the northern tribes of] Israel have been rebelling against the descendants of [King] David.
So Israel was turned away from the family of David to this day.
