I Regum 12

1 Venit autem Roboam in Sichem: illuc enim congregatus erat omnis Israël ad constituendum eum regem.

And Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had come together to make him king,

2 At vero Jeroboam filius Nabat, cum adhuc esset in Ægypto profugus a facie regis Salomonis, audita morte ejus, reversus est de Ægypto.

And, hearing of it, Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who was still in Egypt, where he had gone in flight from Solomon, and was living there, came back to his town Zeredah, in the hill-country of Ephraim;

3 Miseruntque et vocaverunt eum: venit ergo Jeroboam, et omnis multitudo Israël, et locuti sunt ad Roboam, dicentes:

And all the men of Israel came to Rehoboam and said,

4 Pater tuus durissimum jugum imposuit nobis: tu itaque nunc imminue paululum de imperio patris tui durissimo, et de jugo gravissimo quod imposuit nobis, et serviemus tibi.

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 Qui ait eis: Ite usque ad tertium diem, et revertimini ad me. Cumque abiisset populus,

And he said to them, Go away for three days and then come back to me again. So the people went away.

6 iniit consilium rex Roboam cum senioribus qui assistebant coram Salomone patre ejus cum adhuc viveret, et ait: Quod datis mihi consilium, ut respondeam populo huic?

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 Qui dixerunt ei: Si hodie obedieris populo huic, et servieris, et petitioni eorum cesseris, locutusque fueris ad eos verba lenia, erunt tibi servi cunctis diebus.

And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people today, caring for them and giving them a gentle answer, then they will be your servants for ever.

8 Qui dereliquit consilium senum, quod dederant ei, et adhibuit adolescentes, qui nutriti fuerant cum eo, et assistebant illi,

But he gave no attention to the opinion of the old men, and went to the young men of his generation who were waiting before him:

9 dixitque ad eos: Quod mihi datis consilium, ut respondeam populo huic, qui dixerunt mihi: Levius fac jugum quod imposuit pater tuus super nos?

And 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 Et dixerunt ei juvenes qui nutriti fuerant cum eo: Sic loqueris populo huic, qui locuti sunt ad te, dicentes: Pater tuus aggravavit jugum nostrum: tu releva nos. Sic loqueris ad eos: Minimus digitus meus grossior est dorso patris mei.

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; will you make it less? say to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's body;

11 Et nunc pater meus posuit super vos jugum grave, ego autem addam super jugum vestrum: pater meus cecidit vos flagellis, ego autem cædam vos scorpionibus.

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 Venit ergo Jeroboam et omnis populus ad Roboam die tertia, sicut locutus fuerat rex, dicens: Revertimini ad me die tertia.

So all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had given orders, saying, Come back to me the third day.

13 Responditque rex populo dura, derelicto consilio seniorum quod ei dederant,

And the king gave them a rough answer, giving no attention to the suggestion of the old men;

14 et locutus est eis secundum consilium juvenum, dicens: Pater meus aggravavit jugum vestrum, ego autem addam jugo vestro: pater meus cecidit vos flagellis, ego autem cædam vos scorpionibus.

But giving 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 Et non acquievit rex populo: quoniam aversatus fuerat eum Dominus, ut suscitaret verbum suum quod locutus fuerat in manu Ahiæ Silonitæ, ad Jeroboam filium Nabat.

So the king did not give ear to the people; and this came about by the purpose of the Lord, so that what he had said by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam, son of Nebat, might be effected.

16 Videns itaque populus quod noluisset eos audire rex, respondit ei dicens: Quæ nobis pars in David? vel quæ hæreditas in filio Isai? vade in tabernacula tua, Israël: nunc vide domum tuam, David. Et abiit Israël in tabernacula sua.

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? to your tents, O Israel; now see to your people, David. So Israel went away to their tents.

17 Super filios autem Israël, quicumque habitabant in civitatibus Juda, regnavit Roboam.

(But Rehoboam was still king over those of the children of Israel who were living in the towns of Judah.)

18 Misit ergo rex Roboam Aduram, qui erat super tributa: et lapidavit eum omnis Israël, et mortuus est. Porro rex Roboam festinus ascendit currum, et fugit in Jerusalem:

Then King 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 recessitque Israël a domo David usque in præsentem diem.

So Israel was turned away from the family of David to this day.

20 Factum est autem cum audisset omnis Israël quod reversus esset Jeroboam, miserunt, et vocaverunt eum congregato cœtu, et constituerunt eum regem super omnem Israël: nec secutus est quisquam domum David præter tribum Juda solam.

Now when all Israel had news that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him to come before the meeting of the people, and made him king over Israel: not one of them was joined to the family of David but only the tribe of Judah.

21 Venit autem Roboam Jerusalem, et congregavit universam domum Juda, et tribum Benjamin, centum octoginta millia electorum virorum bellatorum, ut pugnarent contra domum Israël, et reducerent regnum Roboam filio Salomonis.

When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he got together all the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand of his best fighting-men, to make war against Israel and get the kingdom back for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.

22 Factus est autem sermo Domini ad Semeiam virum Dei, dicens:

But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,

23 Loquere ad Roboam filium Salomonis regem Juda, et ad omnem domum Juda, et Benjamin, et reliquos de populo, dicens:

Say to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the men of Judah and Benjamin and the rest of the people:

24 Hæc dicit Dominus: Non ascendetis, neque bellabitis contra fratres vestros filios Israël: revertatur vir in domum suam: a me enim factum est verbum hoc. Audierunt sermonem Domini, et reversi sunt de itinere, sicut eis præceperat Dominus.

The Lord has said, You are not to go to war against your brothers, the children of Israel; go back, every man to his house, because this thing is my purpose. So they gave ear to the word of the Lord, and went back, as the Lord had said.

25 Ædificavit autem Jeroboam Sichem in monte Ephraim, et habitavit ibi: et egressus inde ædificavit Phanuel.

Then Jeroboam made the town of Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim a strong place, and was living there; and from there he went out and did the same to Penuel.

26 Dixitque Jeroboam in corde suo: Nunc revertetur regnum ad domum David,

And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will go back to the family of David:

27 si ascenderit populus iste ut faciat sacrificia in domo Domini in Jerusalem: et convertetur cor populi hujus ad dominum suum Roboam regem Juda, interficientque me, et revertentur ad eum.

If the people go up to make offerings in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, their heart will be turned again to their lord, to Rehoboam, king of Judah; and they will put me to death and go back to Rehoboam, king of Judah.

28 Et excogitato consilio fecit duos vitulos aureos, et dixit eis: Nolite ultra ascendere in Jerusalem: ecce dii tui Israël, qui te eduxerunt de terra Ægypti.

So after taking thought the king made two oxen of gold; and he said to the people, You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough; see! these are your gods, O Israel, who took you out of the land of Egypt.

29 Posuitque unum in Bethel, et alterum in Dan:

And he put one in Beth-el and the other in Dan.

30 et factum est verbum hoc in peccatum: ibat enim populus ad adorandum vitulum usque in Dan.

And this became a sin in Israel; for the people went to give worship to the one at Beth-el, and to the other at Dan.

31 Et fecit fana in excelsis, et sacerdotes de extremis populi, qui non erant de filiis Levi.

And he made places for worship at the high places, and made priests, who were not Levites, from among all the people.

32 Constituitque diem solemnem in mense octavo, quintadecima die mensis, in similitudinem solemnitatis quæ celebrabatur in Juda. Et ascendens altare, similiter fecit in Bethel, ut immolaret vitulis quos fabricatus fuerat: constituitque in Bethel sacerdotes excelsorum quæ fecerat.

And Jeroboam gave orders for a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is kept in Judah, and he went up to the altar. And in the same way, in Beth-el, he gave offerings to the oxen which he had made, placing in Beth-el the priests of the high places he had made.

33 Et ascendit super altare quod exstruxerat in Bethel, quintadecima die mensis octavi, quem finxerat de corde suo: et fecit solemnitatem filiis Israël, et ascendit super altare, ut adoleret incensum.

He went up to the altar he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the month fixed by him at his pleasure; and he gave orders for a feast for the people of Israel, and went up to the altar, and there he made the smoke of his offerings go up.