^12:1Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in¹ Shechem to make Rehoboam² king. ^12:2³ When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard the news, he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since.⁴^12:3They sent for him,⁵ and Jeroboam and the whole Israelite assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, ^12:4“Your father made us work too hard.⁶ Now if you lighten the demands he made and don’t make us work as hard, we will serve you.”⁷^12:5He said to them, “Go away for three days, then return to me.” So the people went away.

^12:6King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served⁸ his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them,⁹ “How do you advise me to answer these people?” ^12:7They said to him, “Today if you show a willingness to help these people and grant their request, they will be your servants from this time forward.”¹⁰^12:8But Rehoboam rejected their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up.¹¹^12:9He asked them, “How do you advise me¹² to respond to these people who said to me, ‘Lessen the demands your father placed on us’?”¹³^12:10The young advisers with whom Rehoboam¹⁴ had grown up said to him, “Say this to these people who have said to you, ‘Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.’¹⁵ Say this to them: ‘I am a lot harsher than my father!¹⁶^12:11My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.¹⁷ My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.’ ”¹⁸

^12:12Jeroboam and all the people reported¹⁹ to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, “Return to me on the third day.” ^12:13The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men ^12:14and followed²⁰ the advice of the younger ones. He said, “My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier.²¹ My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.”²²^12:15The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events²³ so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made²⁴ through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

^12:16When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, “We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse!²⁵ Return to your homes, O Israel!²⁶ Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!”²⁷ So Israel returned to their homes.²⁸^12:17(Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived in the cities of Judah.) ^12:18King Rehoboam sent Adoniram,²⁹ the supervisor of the work crews,³⁰ out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem.³¹^12:19So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day. ^12:20When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty.³²

^12:21When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from all of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin³³ to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon. ^12:22But God told Shemaiah the prophet,³⁴^12:23“Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah, and to all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the rest of the people, ^12:24‘The Lord says this: “Do not attack and make war with your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you go home, for I have caused this to happen.” ’ ”³⁵ They obeyed the Lord and went home as the Lord had ordered them to do.³⁶

Jeroboam Makes Golden Calves

^12:25³⁷ Jeroboam built up Shechem in the Ephraimite hill country and lived there. From there he went out and built up Penuel. ^12:26Jeroboam then thought to himself:³⁸ “Now the Davidic dynasty could regain the kingdom.³⁹^12:27If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem,⁴⁰ their loyalty could shift to their former master,⁴¹ King Rehoboam of Judah. They might kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.” ^12:28After the king had consulted with his advisers,⁴² he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people,⁴³ “It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” ^12:29He put one in Bethel⁴⁴ and the other in Dan. ^12:30This caused Israel to sin;⁴⁵ the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.⁴⁶

^12:31He built temples⁴⁷ on the high places and appointed as priests people who were not Levites. ^12:32Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month,⁴⁸ like the festival celebrated in Judah.⁴⁹ On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made.⁵⁰ In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.

A Prophet from Judah Visits Bethel

^12:33On the fifteenth day of the eighth month (a date he had arbitrarily chosen)⁵¹ Jeroboam⁵² offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel.⁵³ He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices. ^13:1Just then¹ a prophet² from Judah, sent by the Lord, arrived in Bethel,³ as Jeroboam was standing near the altar ready to offer a sacrifice. ^13:2With the authority of the Lord⁴ he cried out against the altar, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says, ‘Look, a son named Josiah will be born to the Davidic dynasty. He will sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.’ ”⁵^13:3That day he also announced⁶ a sign, “This is the sign the Lord has predetermined:⁷ The altar will be split open and the ashes⁸ on it will fall to the ground.”⁹^13:4When the king heard what the prophet¹⁰ cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand¹¹ and ordered,¹² “Seize him!” The hand he had extended shriveled up¹³ and he could not pull it back. ^13:5The altar split open and the ashes¹⁴ fell from the altar to the ground,¹⁵ in fulfillment of the sign the prophet had announced with the Lord’s authority.¹⁶^13:6The king pled with¹⁷ the prophet,¹⁸ “Seek the favor of¹⁹ the Lord your God and pray for me, so that my hand may be restored.” So the prophet sought the Lord’s favor²⁰ and the king’s hand was restored to its former condition.²¹^13:7The king then said to the prophet, “Come home with me and have something to eat. I’d like to give a present.” ^13:8But the prophet said to the king, “Even if you were to give me half your possessions,²² I could not go with you and eat and drink²³ in this place. ^13:9For the Lord gave me strict orders,²⁴ ‘Do not eat or drink²⁵ there and do not go home the way you came.’ ” ^13:10So he started back on another road; he did not travel back on the same road he had taken to Bethel.

^13:11Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel.²⁶ When his sons came home, they told their father²⁷ everything the prophet²⁸ had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king.²⁹^13:12Their father asked them, “Which road did he take?” His sons showed him³⁰ the road the prophet³¹ from Judah had taken. ^13:13He then told his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” When they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it ^13:14and took off after the prophet,³² whom he found sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, “Are you the prophet³³ from Judah?” He answered, “Yes, I am.” ^13:15He then said to him, “Come home with me and eat something.” ^13:16But he replied, “I can’t go back with you³⁴ or eat and drink³⁵ with you in this place. ^13:17For the Lord gave me strict orders,³⁶ ‘Do not eat or drink³⁷ there; do not go back the way you came.’ ” ^13:18The old prophet then said,³⁸ “I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the Lord’s authority,³⁹ ‘Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.’ ”⁴⁰ But he was lying to him.⁴¹^13:19So the prophet went back with him and ate and drank in his house.⁴²

^13:20While they were sitting at the table, the Lord spoke through the old prophet⁴³^13:21and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You⁴⁴ have rebelled against the Lord⁴⁵ and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. ^13:22You went back and ate and drank in this place, even though he said to you, “Do not eat or drink there.”⁴⁶ Therefore⁴⁷ your corpse will not be buried in your ancestral tomb.’ ”⁴⁸

^13:23When the prophet from Judah finished his meal,⁴⁹ the old prophet saddled his visitor’s donkey for him.⁵⁰^13:24As the prophet from Judah was traveling, a lion attacked him on the road and killed him.⁵¹ His corpse was lying on the road, and the donkey and the lion just stood there beside it.⁵²^13:25Some men came by⁵³ and saw the corpse lying in the road with the lion standing beside it.⁵⁴ They went and reported what they had seen⁵⁵ in the city where the old prophet lived. ^13:26When the old prophet who had invited him to his house heard the news,⁵⁶ he said, “It is the prophet⁵⁷ who rebelled against the Lord.⁵⁸ The Lord delivered him over to the lion and it ripped him up⁵⁹ and killed him, just as the Lord warned him.”⁶⁰^13:27He told his sons, “Saddle my donkey,” and they did so.⁶¹^13:28He went and found the corpse lying in the road with the donkey and the lion standing beside it;⁶² the lion had neither eaten the corpse nor attacked the donkey. ^13:29The old prophet⁶³ picked up the corpse of the prophet,⁶⁴ put it on the donkey, and brought it back. The old prophet then entered the city to mourn him and to bury him. ^13:30He put the corpse into his own tomb, and they⁶⁵ mourned over him, saying, “Ah, my brother!” ^13:31After he buried him, he said to his sons, “When I die, bury me in the tomb where the prophet⁶⁶ is buried; put my bones right beside his bones, ^13:32for the prophecy he announced with the Lord’s…

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Footnotes

1 Heb “come [to].”
2 Heb “him”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 Verse 2 is not included in the Old Greek translation. See the note on .
4 Heb “and Jeroboam lived in Egypt.” The parallel text in 2 Chr 10:2 reads, “and Jeroboam returned from Egypt.” In a purely consonantal text the forms “and he lived” and “and he returned” are identical (וישׁב).
5 Heb “They sent and called for him.”
6 Heb “made our yoke burdensome.”
7 Heb “but you, now, lighten the burdensome work of your father and the heavy yoke which he placed on us, and we will serve you.” In the Hebrew text the prefixed verbal form with vav (וְנַעַבְדֶךָ, [véna’avdekha] “and we will serve you”) following the imperative (הָקֵל [haqel], “lighten”) indicates purpose (or result). The conditional sentence used in the translation above is an attempt to bring out the logical relationship between these forms.
8 Heb “stood before.”
9 Heb “saying.”
10 Heb “If today you are a servant to these people and you serve them and answer them and speak to them good words, they will be your servants all the days.”
11 Heb “He rejected the advice of the elders which they advised and he consulted the young men with whom he had grown up, who stood before him.” The referent (Rehoboam) of the initial pronoun (“he”) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 In the Hebrew text the verb “we will respond” is plural, although it can be understood as an editorial “we.” The ancient versions have the singular here.
13 Heb “Lighten the yoke which your father placed on us.”
14 Heb “he”; the referent (Rehoboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
15 Heb “Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter upon us.”
16 Heb “My little one is thicker than my father’s hips.” The referent of “my little one” is not clear. The traditional view is that it refers to the little finger. As the following statement makes clear, Rehoboam’s point is that he is more harsh and demanding than his father.
17 Heb “and now my father placed upon you a heavy yoke, but I will add to your yoke.”
18 Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” “Scorpions” might allude to some type of torture using poisonous insects, but more likely it refers to a type of whip that inflicts an especially biting, painful wound. Cf. “whips with pieces of sharp metal.”
19 Heb “came.”
20 Heb “and spoke to them according to.”
21 Heb “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke.”
22 Heb “My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” See the note on the same phrase in v. .
23 Heb “because this turn of events was from the Lord.”
24 Heb “so that he might bring to pass his word which the Lord spoke.”
25 We have no portion in David; no share in the son of Jesse. Their point seems to be that they have no familial relationship with David that brings them any benefits or places upon them any obligations. They are being treated like outsiders.
26 Heb “to your tents, Israel.” The word “return” is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
27 Heb “Now see your house, David.”
28 Heb “went to their tents.”
29 The has “Adoram” here, but the Old Greek translation and have “Adoniram.” Cf. 1 Kgs 4:6.
30 The work crews. See the note on this expression in .
31 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
32 Heb “there was no one [following] after the house of David except the tribe of Judah, it alone.”
33 Heb “he summoned all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred eighty thousand chosen men, accomplished in war.”
34 Heb “and the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying.”
35 Heb “for this thing is from me.”
36 Heb “and they heard the word of the Lord and returned to go according to the word of the Lord.”
37 The Old Greek translation has here a lengthy section consisting of twenty-three verses that are not found in the .
38 Heb “said in his heart.”
39 Heb “Now the kingdom could return to the house of David.” The imperfect verbal form translated “could return” is understood as having a potential force here. Perhaps this is not strong enough; another option is “will return.”
40 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
41 Heb “the heart of these people could return to their master.”
42 The words “with his advisers” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
43 Heb “to them,” although this may be a corruption of “to the people.” Cf. the Old Greek translation.
44 For location see ; ; ; ; .
45 Heb “and this thing became a sin.”
46 The reads “and the people went before the one to Dan.” It is likely that some words have been accidentally omitted and that the text originally said, “and the people went before the one at Bethel and before the one at Dan.”
47 The Hebrew text has the singular, but the plural is preferable here (see 1 Kgs 13:32). The Old Greek translation and the have the plural.
48 The eighth month would correspond to October–November in modern reckoning.
49 The festival he celebrated in Judah probably refers to the Feast of Tabernacles (i.e., Booths or Temporary Shelters), held in the seventh month (September–October). See also 1 Kgs 8:2.
50 Heb “and he offered up [sacrifices] on the altar; he did this in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made.”
51 Heb “which he had chosen by himself.”
52 Heb “he”; the referent (Jeroboam) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
53 For location see ; ; ; ; .
1 Heb “Look.” The Hebrew particle הִנֵּה (hinneh) is a rhetorical device by which the author invites the reader to visualize the scene for dramatic effect.
2 Heb “the man of God.”
3 Heb “came by the word of the Lord to Bethel.”
4 Heb “by the word of the Lord.”
5 ‘Look … you.’ For the fulfillment of this prophecy see 2 Kgs 23:15–20.
6 Heb “gave.”
7 Heb “spoken.”
8 Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See דשׁן.
9 Heb “will be poured out.”
10 Heb “the man of God.”
11 Heb “Jeroboam extended his hand from the altar.”
12 Heb “saying.”
13 Heb “dried up” or “withered.” and interpret this as “became paralyzed.”
14 Heb “the fat.” Reference is made to burnt wood mixed with fat. See דשׁן.
15 Heb “were poured out from the altar.”
16 Heb “according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.”
17 Heb “The king answered and said to.”
18 Heb “the man of God” (a second time later in this verse, and once in v. 7 and v. 8).
19 Heb “appease the face of.”
20 Heb “appeased the face of the Lord.”
21 Heb “and it was as in the beginning.”
22 Heb “house.”
23 Heb “eat food and drink water.”
24 Heb “for this he commanded me by the word of the Lord, saying.”
25 Heb “eat food and drink water.”
26 For location see ; ; ; ; .
27 Heb “and his son came and told him.” The has the singular here, but several other textual witnesses have the plural, which is more consistent with the second half of the verse and with vv. 12–13.
28 Heb “the man of God.”
29 Heb “all the actions which the man of God performed that day in Bethel, the words which he spoke to the king, and they told them to their father.”
30 The Hebrew text has “and his sons saw” (וַיִּרְאוּ [vayyir’u], Qal from רָאָה [ra’ah]). In this case the verbal construction (vav consecutive + prefixed verbal form) would have to be understood as pluperfect, “his sons had seen.” Such uses of this construction are rare at best. Consequently many, following the lead of the ancient versions, prefer to emend the verbal form to a Hiphil with pronominal suffix (וַיַּרְאֻהוּ [vayyar’uhu], “and they showed him”).
31 Heb “the man of God.”
32 Heb “the man of God.”
33 Heb “the man of God.”
34 Heb “I am unable to return with you or to go with you.”
35 Heb “eat food and drink water.”
36 Heb “for a word to me by the word of the Lord.”
37 Heb “eat food and drink water.”
38 Heb “and he said to him.”
39 Heb “by the word of the Lord.”
40 Heb “eat food and drink water.”
41 Or “deceiving him.” He was lying to him. The motives and actions of the old prophet are difficult to understand. The old man’s response to the prophet’s death (see vv. 26–32) suggests he did not trick him with malicious intent. The old prophet probably wanted the honor of entertaining such a celebrity, or perhaps simply desired some social interaction with a fellow prophet.
42 Heb “and he returned with him and ate food in his house and drank water.”
43 Heb “and the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back.”
44 The Hebrew text has “because” at the beginning of the sentence. In the Hebrew text vv. 21–22 are one long sentence comprised of a causal clause giving the reason for divine punishment (vv. 21–22a) and the main clause announcing the punishment (v. 22b). The translation divides this lengthy sentence for stylistic reasons.
45 Heb “the mouth [i.e., command] of the Lord.”
46 Heb “and you returned and ate food and drank water in the place about which he said to you, ‘do not eat food and do not drink water.’ ”
47 “Therefore” is added for stylistic reasons. See the note at pertaining to the grammatical structure of vv. 21–22.
48 Heb “will not go to the tomb of your fathers.”
49 Heb “and after he had eaten food and after he had drunk.”
50 Heb “and he saddled for him the donkey, for the prophet whom he had brought back.”
51 Heb “and he went and a lion met him in the road and killed him.”
52 Heb “and his corpse fell on the road, and the donkey was standing beside it, and the lion was standing beside the corpse.”
53 Heb “Look, men were passing by.”
54 Heb “the corpse.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
55 The words “what they had seen” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
56 Heb “and the prophet who had brought him back from the road heard.”
57 Heb “the man of God.”
58 Heb “the mouth of the Lord.”
59 Heb “broke him,” or “crushed him.”
60 Heb “according to the word of the Lord which he spoke to him.”
61 Heb “and they saddled [it].”
62 Heb “the corpse.” The noun has been replaced by the pronoun (“it”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
63 Heb “the prophet.” The word “old” has been supplied in the translation to distinguish this individual from the other prophet.
64 Heb “the man of God.”
65 “They” is the reading of the Hebrew text here; perhaps this is meant to include not only the old prophet but his sons (cf. v. 31).
66 Heb “the man of God.”