2 Chronicles 10
1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, —for, to Shechem, had all Israel come, to make him king.
And Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had come together to make him king.
2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam son of Nebat, who was in Egypt-whither he had fled from the face of Solomon the king—heard of it, then returned Jeroboam out of Egypt.
And when Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, had news of it, (for he was in Egypt where he had gone in flight from King Solomon, ) he came back from Egypt.
3 And they sent, and called him, so Jeroboam and all Israel came, —and spake unto Rehoboam, saying:
And they sent for him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came to Rehoboam and said,
4 Thy father, made our yoke oppressive, —now, therefore, lighten thou somewhat the oppressive servitude of thy father and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve thee.
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 And he said unto them, Yet three days, and then return unto me, —and the people departed.
And he said to them, Come to me again after three days. So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men who had been standing before Solomon his father, while he yet lived, saying, —How do, ye, counsel to return answer unto this people?
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 And they spake unto him saying, If thou wilt be kind to this people, and please them, and speak unto them kind words, then will they be thy servants, all the days.
And they said to him, If you are kind to this people, pleasing them and saying good words to them, then they will be your servants for ever.
8 But he declined the counsel of the old men, which they gave him, —and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him, who were standing before him.
But he gave no attention to the opinion of the old men, but went to the young men of his generation who were waiting before him.
9 And he said unto them, What do, ye, counsel that we should return as answer, unto this people, —who have spoken unto me saying, Lighten thou somewhat the yoke, which thy father put upon us?
And he 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 Then spake with him the young men who had grown up with him, saying, Thus, shalt thou speak unto the people who have spoken unto thee saying, Thy father, made our yoke heavy, Thou, therefore, lighten somewhat our yoke, —Thus, shalt thou say unto them, My little finger, is thicker than my father’s loins;
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, but will you make it less; say to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's body;
11 Now, therefore, my father, laid upon you a heavy yoke, but, I, will add to your yoke, —My father, chastised you with whips, but, I, with scorpions,
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 So Jeroboam and all the people came unto Rehoboam, on the third day, —as the king spake, saying, Return unto me on the third day.
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had given orders, saying, Come to me again on the third day.
13 And the king answered them harshly, —and King Rehoboam declined the counsel of the old men;
And the king gave them a rough answer. So King Rehoboam gave no attention to the suggestion of the old men,
14 and spake unto them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, My father, made your yoke heavy, but, I, will add thereunto, —My father, chastised you with whips, But, I, with scorpions.
But gave 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 So the king hearkened not unto the people, —for there had come to be a turn from God, to the end Yahweh might establish his word which he had spoken by means of Ahijah the Shilonite, unto Jeroboam, son of Nebat.
So the king did not give ear to the people; for this came about by the purpose of God, so that the Lord might give effect to his word which he had said by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.
16 And, when, all Israel, [saw] that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying—What portion have, we, in David, or inheritance in the son of Jesse? Every man, to your homes, O Israel! Now, see to thine own house, O David! And all Israel departed to their homes.
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? every man to your tents, O Israel; now see to your house, David. So all Israel went to their tents.
17 But, as for the sons of Israel who were dwelling in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
But Rehoboam was still king over those of the children of Israel who were living in the towns of Judah.
18 Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the tribute, and the sons of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. So, King Rehoboam, hasted to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
Then 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 Thus Israel rebelled against the house of David—unto this day.
So Israel was turned away from the family of David to this day.
