1 Kings 12
1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
Rehoboam went to Shechem because that is where the whole of Israel had gone to make him king.
2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard [of it], (for he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt; )
Jeroboam, son of Nebat, was still in Egypt when he heard about this. (He had run away to Egypt to escape from King Solomon and was living there.)
3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
The Israelite leaders sent for him. Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israelites went to talk with Rehoboam.
4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
“Your father placed a heavy burden on us,” they told him. “But now if you lighten the load when we served your father and the heavy demands he put on us, we will serve you.”
5 And he said to them, Depart yet [for] three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
Rehoboam answered, “Go away and come back in three days time.” So the people left.
6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
King Rehoboam asked for advice from the elders who had served his father Solomon when he was alive. “How do you advise me to reply to these people about this?” he asked.
7 And they spoke to him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant to this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.
They replied, “If you are a servant to these people today, if you serve them and answer them, by speaking kindly to them, they will always serve you.”
8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that had grown up with him, [and] who stood before him:
But Rehoboam dismissed the advice of the elders. He instead asked advice from the young men who he had grown up with, and who were close to him.
9 And he said to them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
He asked them, “What response do you advise that we send back to these people who have told me, ‘Lighten the burden your father put on us’?”
10 And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak to this people who spoke to thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou [it] lighter to us; thus shalt thou say to them, My little [finger] shall be thicker than my father's loins.
The young men who he had grown up with told him, “This is what you have to tell these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our burden heavy, but you should make it lighter.’ This is what you should answer them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's waist!
11 And now whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
My father placed a heavy burden on you, and I will make it even heavier. My father punished you with whips; I will punish you with scorpions.’”
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
Three days later, Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, because the king had told them, “Come back in three days time.”
13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;
The king answered the people sharply. Dismissing the advice of the elders,
14 And spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father [also] chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
he replied using the advice of the young men. He said, “My father placed a heavy burden on you, and I will make it even heavier. My father punished you with whips; I will punish you with scorpions.”
15 Wherefore the king hearkened not to the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
The king did not listen to what the people said, for this change in circumstances was from the Lord, to fulfill what the Lord had told Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
16 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither [have we] inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thy own house, David. So Israel departed to their tents.
When all the Israelites saw that the king wasn't listening to them, they told the king: “What share do we have in David, and what part do we have in the son of Jesse? Go home, Israel! You're on your own, house of David!” So all the Israelites went home.
17 But [as for] the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
However, Rehoboam still ruled over the Israelites who lived in Judah.
18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who [was] over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to enter his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
Then King Rehoboam sent out Hadoram, who was in charge of forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. King Rehoboam quickly jumped into his chariot and raced back to Jerusalem.
19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day.
As a result, Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
20 And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come again, that they sent and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent for him, summoning him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah was left to the house of David.
21 And when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered the men from the households of Judah and Benjamin— 180,000 chosen warriors—to go and fight against Israel to bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam, son of Solomon.
22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
But a message from the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God that said,
23 Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
“Tell Rehoboam, son of Solomon, king of Judah, to Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people:
24 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.
‘This is what the Lord says. Don't fight against your Israelite relatives. Every one of you, go home! For it was me that made this happen.’” So they obeyed what the Lord told them and went home, as the Lord had said.
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt in it, and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
Jeroboam strengthened the town of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went and built Penuel.
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
Jeroboam said to himself, “The kingdom could easily return to the house of David.
27 If this people go up to perform sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to their lord, [even] to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.
When people from here go to offer sacrifices at the Lord's Temple in Jerusalem, they will transfer their loyalty back to Rehoboam, king of Judah. Then they will kill me and go back to King Rehoboam.”
28 Upon which the king took counsel, and made two calves [of] gold, and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
So after taking advice, the king had two golden calves made, and he told the people, “Don't bother going to Jerusalem any more. Look, Israel, here are your gods who led you out of the land of Egypt.”
29 And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other he placed in Dan.
He placed one in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went [to worship] before the one, [even] to Dan.
This action brought about sin, because the people went as far north as Dan to worship the idol there.
31 And he made a house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
In addition Jeroboam had shrines built on high places and appointed as priests all kinds of people who were not Levites.
32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that [is] in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Beth-el, sacrificing to the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places which he had made.
Jeroboam initiated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, just like the festival held in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. He made this offering in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made, and appointed priests in Bethel for the high places he had built.
33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el the fifteenth day of the eighth month, [even] in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast to the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
So on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month he had chosen himself, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. In this way he instituted a festival for the Israelites, offering sacrifices on the altar and burning incense.
