2 Chronicles 10
1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem had all Israel come to make him king.
All the people of Israel went to Shechem [city] in order to appoint Rehoboam to be their king. So Rehoboam also went there.
2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned from Egypt.
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
3 And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
So the [leaders of the northern tribes] summoned him, and he went with them [to talk] to Rehoboam. They said to Rehoboam,
4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.
“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].”
5 And he said to them, Come again to me after three days. And the people departed.
He replied, “Come back three days from now [and I will give you my answer].” So those leaders [and Jeroboam] left.
6 And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?
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?”
7 And they spoke to him, saying, If thou wilt be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever.
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.”
8 But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him.
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.
9 And he said to them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father put upon us?
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?”
10 And the young men that were brought up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spoke to thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say to them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s thighs.
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.
11 For though my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
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.’”
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king appointed, saying, Come again to me on the third day.
Three days later, Jeroboam and all the leaders came to King Rehoboam again, which is what he had told them to do.
13 And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,
The king ignored the advice of the older men and spoke harshly to the Israeli leaders.
14 And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
[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 So the king hearkened not to the people: for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his word, which he spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
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.
16 And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken to them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? and we have no inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to thy own house. So all Israel went to their tents.
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.
17 But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
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].
18 Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was over the forced labour; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king Rehoboam made speed to get into his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
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.
19 And Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day.
Ever since that time, [the people of the northern tribes of] Israel have been rebelling against the descendants of [King] David.
