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 Roboam went to Sichem: for thither all Israel were assembled, 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 Nabat, who was in Egypt, (for he was fled thither from Solomon, ) heard it, forthwith he returned.
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 he came with all Israel, and they spoke to Roboam, saying:
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].”
Thy father oppressed us with a most grievous yoke, do thou govern us with a lighter hand than thy father, who laid upon us a heavy servitude, and ease some thing of the burden, that we may serve thee.
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. And when the people were gone,
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?”
He took counsel with the ancients, who had stood before his father Solomon, while he yet lived, saying: What counsel give you to me, that I may answer the 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 thou please this people, and soothe them with kind words, they will be thy 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 forsook the counsel of the ancients, and began to treat with the young men, that had been brought up with him, and were in his train.
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 seemeth good to you? or what shall I answer this people, who have said to me: Ease the yoke which thy father laid upon 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.
But they answered as young men, and brought up with him in pleasures, and said: Thus shalt thou speak to the people, that said to thee: Thy father made our yoke heavy, do thou ease it: thus shalt thou answer them: My little finger is thicker than the loins of my father.
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.’”
My father laid upon you a heavy yoke, and I will add more weight to it: my father beat you with scourges, but I will beat you with scorpions.
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 Roboam the third day, as he commanded them.
13 The king ignored the advice of the older men and spoke harshly to the Israeli leaders.
And the king answered roughly, leaving the counsel of the ancients.
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 according to the advice of the young men: My father laid upon you a heavy yoke, which I will make heavier: my father beat you with scourges, but I will beat you with scorpions.
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.
And he condescended not to the people’s requests: for it was the will of God, that his word might be fulfilled which he had spoken by the hand of Ahias the Silonite to 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 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 all the people upon the king’s speaking roughly, said thus unto him: We have no part in David, nor inheritance in the son of Isai. Return to thy dwellings, O Israel, and do thou, O David, feed thy own house. And Israel went away to their dwellings.
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 Roboam reigned over the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Juda.
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.
And king Roboam sent Aduram, who was over the tributes, and the children of Israel stoned him, and he died: and king Roboam made haste to gee up into his chariot, and fled into Jerusalem.
19 Ever since that time, [the people of the northern tribes of] Israel have been rebelling against the descendants of [King] David.
And Israel revolted from the house of David unto this day.
