2 Chronicles 10
1 And Rehoboam goeth to Shechem, for [to] Shechem have all Israel come to cause him to reign.
And Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had come together to make him king.
2 And it cometh to pass, at Jeroboam son of Nebat's — who [is] in Egypt because he hath fled from the face of Solomon the king — hearing, that Jeroboam turneth back out of 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 and they send and call for him, and Jeroboam cometh in, and all Israel, and speak unto Rehoboam, saying,
And they sent for him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came to Rehoboam and said,
4 'Thy father made our yoke sharp, and now, make light [somewhat] of the sharp service of thy father, and of his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we serve thee.'
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 And he saith unto them, 'Yet three days — then return ye unto me;' and the people go.
And he said to them, Come to me again after three days. So the people went away.
6 And king Rehoboam consulteth with the aged men who have been standing before Solomon his father in his being alive, saying, 'How are ye counselling to answer this people?'
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 And they speak unto him, saying, 'If thou dost become good to this people, and hast been pleased with them, and spoken unto them good words, then they have been to thee servants all the days.'
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 And he forsaketh the counsel of the aged men that they counselled him, and consulteth with the lads who have grown up with him, those standing before him,
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 and he saith unto them, 'What are ye counselling, and we answer this people that have spoken unto me, saying, Make light [somewhat] of the yoke that thy father put upon us?'
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 And the lads who have grown up with him, speak with him, saying, 'Thus dost thou say to the people who have spoken unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and thou, make light [somewhat] of our yoke; thus dost thou say unto them, My little finger is thicker than the loins of my father;
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 and now, my father laid on you a heavy yoke, and I — I add unto your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, and I — with scorpions.'
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 And Jeroboam cometh in, and all the people, unto Rehoboam on the third day, as the king spake, saying, 'Return unto me on the third day.'
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 And the king answereth them sharply, and king Rehoboam forsaketh the counsel of the aged men,
And the king gave them a rough answer. So King Rehoboam gave no attention to the suggestion of the old men,
14 and speaketh unto them according to the counsel of the lads, saying, 'My father made your yoke heavy, and I — I add unto it; my father chastised you with whips, and I — with scorpions.'
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 And the king hath not hearkened unto the people, for the revolution hath been from God, for the sake of Jehovah's establishing His word that He spake by the hand of Abijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam son of Nebat.
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 And all Israel have seen that the king hath not hearkened to them, and the people send back [to] the king, saying, 'What portion have we in David? yea, there is no inheritance in a son of Jesse; each to thy tents, O Israel; now, see thy house — David,' and all Israel go to their tents.
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 As to the sons of Israel who are dwelling in the cities of Judah — Rehoboam reigneth over them.
But Rehoboam was still king over those of the children of Israel who were living in the towns of Judah.
18 And king Rehoboam sendeth Hadoram, who [is] over the tribute, and the sons of Israel cast at him stones, and he dieth; and king Rehoboam hath strengthened himself to go up into a chariot to flee 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 and Israel transgress against the house of David unto this day.
So Israel was turned away from the family of David to this day.
