^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.

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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 ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .