I Regum 12
1 Venit autem Roboam in Sichem: illuc enim congregatus erat omnis Israël ad constituendum eum regem.
All [HYP] the people of [northern] Israel went to Shechem [city] in order to appoint Rehoboam to be their king. So Rehoboam also went there.
2 At vero Jeroboam filius Nabat, cum adhuc esset in Ægypto profugus a facie regis Salomonis, audita morte ejus, reversus est de Ægypto.
When Jeroboam, who was still in Egypt, heard about that, he returned from Egypt [to Israel].
3 Miseruntque et vocaverunt eum: venit ergo Jeroboam, et omnis multitudo Israël, et locuti sunt ad Roboam, dicentes:
The [leaders of the northern tribes] summoned him, and they went together [to talk] to Rehoboam. They said to him,
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 [Solomon] forced us to work very hard [MET] for him. If you (lighten these loads/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 Qui ait eis: Ite usque ad tertium diem, et revertimini ad me. Cumque abiisset populus,
He replied, “Go away, and come back three days from now [and I will give you my answer].” So those leaders and Jeroboam left.
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 consulted the older men who had advised his father Solomon while he was still living. He asked them, “What shall I say to answer those men?”
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.
They replied, “If you want to serve your people well, speak kindly to those men when you reply to them. If you do that, your people will always serve you faithfully.”
8 Qui dereliquit consilium senum, quod dederant ei, et adhibuit adolescentes, qui nutriti fuerant cum eo, et assistebant illi,
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/the ones who told him what would be good to do).
9 dixitque ad eos: Quod mihi datis consilium, ut respondeam populo huic, qui dixerunt mihi: Levius fac jugum quod imposuit pater tuus super nos?
He said to them, “What should I say to the men who are asking me to reduce the [work and taxes] that my father required from them?”
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.
They replied, “This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist.
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.
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 [it will be as though] I will whip you with whips that have pieces of metal in them.’”
12 Venit ergo Jeroboam et omnis populus ad Roboam die tertia, sicut locutus fuerat rex, dicens: Revertimini ad me die tertia.
So three days later, Jeroboam and all the leaders came to Rehoboam again, as he had told them to do.
13 Responditque rex populo dura, derelicto consilio seniorum quod ei dederant,
The king ignored the advice of the older men and spoke harshly to the Israeli leaders.
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.
[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 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 pay any attention to the Israeli leaders. But this happened in order that what Yahweh wanted would occur, what he had told the prophet Ahijah about Jeroboam [becoming king of the ten tribes].
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.
When the Israeli leaders realized that the king did not pay any attention to what they said, they shouted, “We do not [RHQ] 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 [MTY], he can rule his own kingdom [MTY]!” So the Israeli leaders returned to their homes.
17 Super filios autem Israël, quicumque habitabant in civitatibus Juda, regnavit Roboam.
And [after that, ] the [only Israeli] people whom Rehoboam ruled over were those who lived in the territory of [the tribe 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 [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 recessitque Israël a domo David usque in præsentem diem.
Ever since that time, the people of [the northern tribes of] Israel have been rebelling against the descendants [MTY] of [King] David.
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.
When the Israeli people heard that Jeroboam had returned [from Egypt], they invited him to come to a meeting, and there they appointed him to be the king of Israel. Only the people of the tribes of Judah [and Benjamin] continued to be loyal to [the kings descended from King] [MTY] David.
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 arrived in Jerusalem, he gathered 180,000 of the best soldiers from the tribes [MTY] of Judah and Benjamin. He wanted them to fight against the northern tribes of [MTY] Israel [and defeat them], in order that he could [rule all the tribes of] his kingdom again.
22 Factus est autem sermo Domini ad Semeiam virum Dei, dicens:
But God spoke to the prophet Shemaiah and said this to him:
23 Loquere ad Roboam filium Salomonis regem Juda, et ad omnem domum Juda, et Benjamin, et reliquos de populo, dicens:
“Go and tell this to [Solomon’s son] Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and to all the people of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin and the people from the northern tribe who live in Judah:
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.
‘Yahweh says that you must not go to fight against your own relatives, the people of Israel. All of you must go home. What has happened is what Yahweh wanted to happen.’” [So Shemaiah went and told that to them, ] and they all paid attention to what Yahweh had commanded them to do, and they went home.
25 Ædificavit autem Jeroboam Sichem in monte Ephraim, et habitavit ibi: et egressus inde ædificavit Phanuel.
Then Jeroboam’s workers built [walls around] Shechem [city] in the hilly area [where the descendants] of Ephraim [lived], and he ruled from there for a while. He and his workers then left there and went to Peniel [town], and they built walls around that town.
26 Dixitque Jeroboam in corde suo: Nunc revertetur regnum ad domum David,
Then Jeroboam said to himself, “If my people [continue to] go to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices to Yahweh at the temple there, soon they will again become loyal to Rehoboam, the king of Judah [DOU], and they will kill me.”
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.
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 he consulted [his advisors, and then he did what they suggested]. He [told his workers to] make gold [statues of] two calves. Then he said to the people, “You have been going to Jerusalem [to worship] for a long time. It is a big trouble for you to continue going there. You people of Israel, look! These statues are the gods that brought our [ancestors] up from Egypt! [So you can worship these, here!]”
29 Posuitque unum in Bethel, et alterum in Dan:
He [told his workers to] place one of the statues in Bethel [city in the south] and one in Dan [city in the north].
30 et factum est verbum hoc in peccatum: ibat enim populus ad adorandum vitulum usque in Dan.
So [what Jeroboam did caused] the people [to] sin. Some of them went and worshiped the calf at Bethel, and others went and worshiped the other calf at Dan.
31 Et fecit fana in excelsis, et sacerdotes de extremis populi, qui non erant de filiis Levi.
[Moses had declared that only men from the tribe of Levi would be priests, but] Jeroboam also told his workers to build shrines on hilltops, and then he appointed men who were not from the tribe of Levi to be priests.
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.
He also appointed Adonijah and two priests, Elishama and Jehoram. They had a celebration at the end of October, like the celebration [of Living in Temporary Shelters] that occurred in Judah [each year]. On the altar [that they built] in Bethel, he offered sacrifices to the gold statues of calves that they had made, and he stationed the priests there at the shrines that his workers had built.
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.
Jeroboam went up to that altar on that day in October which he himself had chosen. There on that altar he burned incense [to be a sacrifice]. And he declared that the people should celebrate that festival [on that same day every year].
