1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelled in Egypt;)
3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
4 Your father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make you the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, lighter, and we will serve you.
5 And he said to them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do you advise that I may answer this people?
7 And they spoke to him, saying, If you will be a servant to this people this day, and will serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants for ever.
8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
9 And he said to them, What counsel give you that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which your father did put on us lighter?
10 And the young men that were grown up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus shall you speak to this people that spoke to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, but make you it lighter to us; thus shall you say to them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father' loins.
11 And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father has chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men' counsel that they gave him;
14 And spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
15 Why the king listened not to the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 So when all Israel saw that the king listened not to them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to your own house, David. So Israel departed to their tents.
17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelled in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day.
20 And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
21 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
23 Speak to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
24 Thus said the LORD, You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They listened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.
25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelled therein; and went out from there, and built Penuel.
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even to Dan.
31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like to the feast that is in Judah, and he offered on the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
33 So he offered on the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast to the children of Israel: and he offered on the altar, and burnt incense.
1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from before King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt),
3 that they sent and called for him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
4 Your father had made our yoke severe; now therefore, lighten the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he had put on us, and we will serve you.
5 So he said to them, Go away for three days, then come back to me. And the people departed.
6 And King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, How do you counsel me to answer these people?
7 And they spoke to him, saying, If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak agreeable words to them, then they will be your servants all your days.
8 But he rejected the counsel which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who were standing before him.
9 And he said to them, What counsel do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, Lighten the yoke which your father has put on us?
10 And the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus you shall speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us; thus you shall say to them: My little finger has become fatter than my fathers loins!
11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions!
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had spoken, saying, Come back to me the third day.
13 And the king answered the people harshly, and rejected the counsel which the elders had given him;
14 and he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions!
15 Thus the king did not give heed to the people; for the turn of events was from Jehovah, to establish His word, which Jehovah had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 And when all Israel saw that the king had not heeded them, the people answered the king, saying: What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O David! And Israel departed to their tents.
17 Thus Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.
18 And King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute, but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem.
19 Thus Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
20 And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, that they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was no one who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
21 And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand choice men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22 But the Word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
23 Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying,
24 Thus says Jehovah: You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing has come about from Me. Therefore they obeyed the Word of Jehovah, and returned to go back, according to the Word of Jehovah.
25 And Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel.
26 And Jeroboam thought in his heart, Now the kingdom may return to the house of David:
27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.
28 Therefore the king took counsel, made two calves of gold, and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!
29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went before the one, even as far as Dan.
31 He made houses on the high places, and made priests from among all the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
32 And Jeroboam instituted a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. Thus he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made.
33 Thus he offered up on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had contrived in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense.