I Regum 12
1 venit autem Roboam in Sychem illuc enim congregatus erat omnis Israhel 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 Hieroboam filius Nabath cum adhuc esset in Aegypto profugus a facie regis Salomonis audita morte eius reversus est de Aegypto
When Jeroboam, who was still in Egypt, heard about that, he returned from Egypt [to Israel].
3 miseruntque et vocaverunt eum venit ergo Hieroboam et omnis multitudo Israhel 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 iugum inposuit nobis tu itaque nunc inminue paululum de imperio patris tui durissimo et de iugo gravissimo quod inposuit 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 abisset 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 senibus qui adsistebant coram Salomone patre eius dum adviveret et ait quod mihi datis consilium ut respondeam populo
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 oboedieris 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 adulescentes qui nutriti fuerant cum eo et adsistebant 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 iugum quod inposuit 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 iuvenes qui nutriti fuerant cum eo sic loquere populo huic qui locuti sunt ad te dicentes pater tuus adgravavit iugum 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 iugum grave ego autem addam super iugum vestrum pater meus cecidit vos flagellis ego autem caedam 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 Hieroboam 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 iuvenum dicens pater meus adgravavit iugum vestrum ego autem addam iugo vestro pater meus cecidit vos flagellis et ego caedam 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 adquievit rex populo quoniam aversatus eum fuerat Dominus ut suscitaret verbum suum quod locutus fuerat in manu Ahiae Silonitae ad Hieroboam filium Nabath
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 quae nobis pars in David vel quae hereditas in filio Isai in tabernacula tua Israhel nunc vide domum tuam David et abiit Israhel 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 Israhel quicumque habitabant in civitatibus Iuda 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 igitur rex Roboam Aduram qui erat super tributum et lapidavit eum omnis Israhel et mortuus est porro rex Roboam festinus ascendit currum et fugit in Hierusalem
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 Israhel a domo David usque in praesentem 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 Israhel quod reversus esset Hieroboam miserunt et vocaverunt eum congregato coetu et constituerunt regem super omnem Israhel nec secutus est quisquam domum David praeter tribum Iuda 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 Hierusalem et congregavit universam domum Iuda et tribum Beniamin centum octoginta milia electorum virorum et bellatorum ut pugnaret contra domum Israhel et reduceret 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 vero 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 Iuda et ad omnem domum Iuda et Beniamin 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 haec dicit Dominus non ascendetis nec bellabitis contra fratres vestros filios Israhel revertatur vir in domum suam a me enim factum est verbum hoc audierunt sermonem Domini et reversi sunt de itinere sicut eis praeceperat 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 aedificavit autem Hieroboam Sychem in monte Ephraim et habitavit ibi et egressus inde aedificavit Phanuhel
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 Hieroboam 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 Hierusalem et convertetur cor populi huius ad dominum suum Roboam regem Iuda interficientque me et revertentur ad eum
28 et excogitato consilio fecit duos vitulos aureos et dixit eis nolite ultra ascendere Hierusalem ecce dii tui Israhel qui eduxerunt te de terra Aegypti
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 sollemnem in mense octavo quintadecima die mensis in similitudinem sollemnitatis quae celebratur in Iuda et ascendens altare similiter fecit in Bethel ut immolaret vitulis quos fabricatus erat constituitque in Bethel sacerdotes excelsorum quae 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 extruxerat in Bethel quintadecima die mensis octavi quem finxerat de corde suo et fecit sollemnitatem filiis Israhel 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].
