1 Kings 12

1 And Rehoboam goes to Shechem, for all Israel has come to Shechem to make him king.

Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel was coming to Shechem to make him king.

2 And it comes to pass, at Jeroboam son of Nebat’s hearing (and he [is] yet in Egypt where he has fled from the presence of Solomon the king, and Jeroboam dwells in Egypt),

It happened that Jeroboam son of Nebat heard of this (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon), for Jeroboam had settled down in Egypt.

3 that they send and call for him; and they come—Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel—and speak to Rehoboam, saying,

So they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam,

4 “Your father hardened our yoke, and you, now, lighten [some] of the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke that he put on us, and we serve you.”

“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now make lighter the hard work of your father and make lighter the heavy yoke that he put on us, and we will serve you.”

5 And he says to them, “Yet go [for] three days, and come back to me”; and the people go.

Rehoboam said to them, “Go away for three days, then come back to me.” So the people went away.

6 And King Rehoboam consults with the elderly who have been standing in the presence of his father Solomon, in his being alive, saying, “How are you counseling to answer this people?”

King Rehoboam consulted with the old men who had stood before Solomon his father while he was alive, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer this people?”

7 And they speak to him, saying, “If, today, you are a servant of this people, and have served them, and answered them, and spoken good words to them, then they have been servants to you [for] all the days.”

They spoke to him and said, “If you will be a servant today to these people and serve them, and answer them by saying good words to them, then they will always be your servants.”

8 And he forsakes the counsel of the elderly which they counseled him, and consults with the boys who have grown up with him, who are standing before him;

But Rehoboam ignored the advice that the old men had given him and he consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.

9 and he says to them, “What are you counseling, and we answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Lighten [some] of the yoke that your father put on us?”

He said to them, “What advice do you give me that we may answer the people who spoke to me and said, 'Lighten the yoke that your father put on us'?”

10 And they speak to him—the boys who had grown up with him—saying, “Thus you say to this people who have spoken to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, and you, make [it] light on us; thus you speak to them, My little [finger] is thicker than the loins of my father;

The young men who had grown up with Rehoboam spoke to him, saying, “Speak to these people who told you that your father Solomon made their yoke heavy but that you must make it lighter. You should say to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist.

11 and now, my father laid a heavy yoke on you, and I add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, and I discipline you with scorpions.”

So now, although my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.'”

12 And they come—Jeroboam and all the people—to Rehoboam, on the third day, as the king had spoken, saying, “Come back to me on the third day.”

So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had instructed when he said, “Come back to me on the third day.”

13 And the king answers the people sharply, and forsakes the counsel of the elderly which they counseled him,

The king answered the people roughly and ignored the advice of the old men that they had given him.

14 and speaks to them, according to the counsel of the boys, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, and I add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, and I discipline you with scorpions”;

He spoke to them following the advice of the young men; he said, “My father burdened you with a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.”

15 and the king did not listen to the people, for the revolution was from YHWH, in order to establish His word that YHWH spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of events brought about by Yahweh, that he might carry out his word that he had spoken by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

16 And all Israel sees that the king has not listened to them, and the people send the king back word, saying, “What portion do we have in David? Indeed, there is no inheritance in the son of Jesse; [return] to your tents, O Israel; now see your house, O David!” And Israel goes to its tents.

When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered him and said, “What share do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse! Go to your tents, Israel. Now see to your own house, David.” So Israel went back to their tents.

17 As for the sons of Israel, those dwelling in the cities of Judah—Rehoboam reigns over them.

But as for the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam became king over them.

18 And King Rehoboam sends Adoram who [is] over the tribute, and all Israel casts stones at him, and he dies; and King Rehoboam has strengthened himself to go up into a chariot to flee to Jerusalem;

Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was over the forced laborers, but all Israel stoned him to death with stones. King Rehoboam fled quickly in his chariot to Jerusalem.

19 and Israel transgresses against the house of David to this day.

So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

20 And it comes to pass, at all Israel hearing that Jeroboam has returned, that they send and call him to the congregation, and cause him to reign over all Israel; none has been after the house of David except the tribe of Judah alone.

It happened that when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to their assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was no one who followed the family of David, except only the tribe of Judah.

21 And Rehoboam comes to Jerusalem, and assembles all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors, to fight with the house of Israel, to bring back the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin; there were 180,000 chosen men who were soldiers, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon.

22 And the word of God is to Shemaiah a man of God, saying,

But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God; it said,

23 “Speak to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people, saying,

“Speak to Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people; say,

24 Thus said YHWH: You do not go up nor fight with your brothers the sons of Israel; let each return to his house, for this thing has been from Me”; and they hear the word of YHWH, and turn back to go according to the word of YHWH.

'Yahweh says this: You must not attack or fight against your brothers the people of Israel. Each man must return to his home, for this thing has been made to happen by me.'” So they listened to the word of Yahweh and turned back and went their way, and they obeyed his word.

25 And Jeroboam builds Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and dwells in it, and goes out there, and builds Penuel;

Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived there. He went out from there and built Peniel.

26 and Jeroboam says in his heart, “Now the kingdom turns back to the house of David—

Jeroboam thought in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.

27 if this people goes up to make sacrifices in the house of YHWH in Jerusalem, then the heart of this people has turned back to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they have slain me, and turned back to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of Yahweh at Jerusalem, then the heart of these people will turn again to their master, to Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”

28 And the king takes counsel, and makes two calves of gold, and says to them, “Enough of you from going up to Jerusalem; behold, your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

So King Jeroboam sought advice and made two calves of gold; he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, these are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

29 And he sets the one in Beth-El, and the other he has put in Dan,

He set up one in Bethel and the other in Dan.

30 and this thing becomes a sin, and the people go before the one—to Dan.

So this act became a sin. The people went to one or the other, all the way to Dan.

31 And he makes the house of high places, and makes priests from the extremities of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi;

Jeroboam made houses on high places and he also made priests from among all the people, who were not among the sons of Levi.

32 and Jeroboam makes a festival in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival that [is] in Judah, and he offers on the altar—so he did in Beth-El—to sacrifice to the calves which he made, and he has appointed in Beth-El the priests of the high places that he made.

Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah, and he went up to the altar. He did so at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made, and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places he had made.

33 And he offers up on the altar that he made in Beth-El, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month that he devised from his own heart, and he makes a festival for the sons of Israel, and offers on the altar—to make incense.

Jeroboam went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month he had planned in his own mind; he ordained a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense.