1 Kings 12

1 And Rehoboam goeth to Shechem, for to Shechem hath all Israel come to make him king.

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

2 And it cometh to pass, at Jeroboam son of Nebat's hearing (and he [is] yet in Egypt where he hath fled from the presence of Solomon the king, and Jeroboam dwelleth 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 unto Rehoboam, saying,

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

4 'Thy father made hard our yoke, and thou, now, make light [some] of the hard service of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we serve thee.'

“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 saith unto them, 'Go — yet three days, and come back unto 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 consulteth with the elders who have been standing in the presence of Solomon his father, in his being alive, saying, 'How are ye counselling 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 unto him, saying, 'If, to-day, thou art servant to this people, and hast served them, and answered them, and spoken unto them good words, then they have been to thee servants 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 forsaketh the counsel of the elders which they counselled him, and consulteth with the lads 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 saith unto them, 'What are ye counselling, and we answer this people, who have spoken unto me, saying, Lighten [somewhat] of the yoke that thy father put upon 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 unto him — the lads who had grown up with him — saying, 'Thus dost thou say to this people who have spoken unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and thou, make [it] light upon us; thus dost thou speak unto 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 on you a heavy yoke, and I add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, and I — I chastise 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 — unto Rehoboam, on the third day, as the king had spoken, saying, 'Come back unto 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 answereth the people sharply, and forsaketh the counsel of the elders which they counselled him,

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

14 and speaketh unto them, according to the counsel of the lads, saying, 'My father made your yoke heavy, and I add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, and I — I chastise 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 hearkened not unto the people, for the revolution was from Jehovah, in order to establish His word that Jehovah spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite unto 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 see that the king hath not hearkened unto them, and the people send the king back word, saying, 'What portion have we in David? yea, there is no inheritance in the son of Jesse; to thy tents, O Israel; now see thy house, O David!' and Israel goeth 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 to the sons of Israel, those dwelling in the cities of Judah — over them reign doth Rehoboam.

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

18 And king Rehoboam sendeth Adoram who [is] over the tribute, and all 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 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 transgresseth against the house of David unto this day.

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

20 And it cometh to pass, at all Israel's hearing that Jeroboam hath returned, that they send and call him unto the company, and cause him to reign over all Israel; none hath been after the house of David save 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 cometh to Jerusalem, and assembleth all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, a 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 unto Shemaiah a man of God, saying,

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

23 'Speak unto Rehoboam son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto 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 Jehovah, Ye do not go up nor fight with your brethren the sons of Israel; turn back each to his house, for from Me hath this thing been;' and they hear the word of Jehovah, and turn back to go according to the word of Jehovah.

'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 buildeth Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and dwelleth in it, and goeth out thence, and buildeth 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 saith in his heart, 'Now doth the kingdom turn 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 go up to make sacrifices in the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem, then hath the heart of this people turned back unto their lord, unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they have slain me, and turned back unto 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 taketh counsel, and maketh two calves of gold, and saith unto them, 'Enough to you of going up to Jerusalem; lo, thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee 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 setteth the one in Beth-El, and the other he hath put in Dan,

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

30 and this thing becometh a sin, and the people go before the one — unto Dan.

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

31 And he maketh the house of high places, and maketh priests of 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 maketh a festival in the eighth month, in the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival that [is] in Judah, and he offereth on the altar — so did he in Beth-El — to sacrifice to the calves which he made, and he hath 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 offereth up on the altar that he made in Beth-El, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month that he devised of his own heart, and he maketh a festival to the sons of Israel, and offereth on the altar — to make perfume.

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.