1 Kings 12–13

¹And Rehoboam goeth to Shechem, for to Shechem hath all Israel come to make him king. ²And 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), ³that they send and call for him; and they come—Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel—and speak unto Rehoboam, saying, 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.’ ⁵And he saith unto them, ‘Go—yet three days, and come back unto me;’ and the people go. ⁶And 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?’ ⁷And 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.’ ⁸And 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; ⁹and 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?’ ¹⁰And 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; ¹¹and 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.’ ¹²And 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.’ ¹³And the king answereth the people sharply, and forsaketh the counsel of the elders which they counselled him, ¹⁴and 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;’ ¹⁵and 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.

¹⁶And 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. ¹⁷As to the sons of Israel, those dwelling in the cities of Judah—over them reign doth Rehoboam. ¹⁸And 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; ¹⁹and Israel transgresseth against the house of David unto this day. ²⁰And 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. ²¹And 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. ²²And the word of God is unto Shemaiah a man of God, saying, 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, ²⁴Thus 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.

²⁵And Jeroboam buildeth Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim, and dwelleth in it, and goeth out thence, and buildeth Penuel; ²⁶and Jeroboam saith in his heart, ‘Now doth the kingdom turn back to the house of David— ²⁷if 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.’ ²⁸And 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.’ ²⁹And he setteth the one in Beth-El, and the other he hath put in Dan, ³⁰and this thing becometh a sin, and the people go before the one—unto Dan. ³¹And he maketh the house of high places, and maketh priests of the extremities of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi; ³²and 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. ³³And 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.

Chapter 13

¹And lo, a man of God hath come from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, unto Beth-El, and Jeroboam is standing by the altar—to make perfume; ²and he calleth against the altar, by the word of Jehovah, and saith, ‘Altar! altar! thus said Jehovah, Lo, a son is born to the house of David—Josiah his name—and he hath sacrificed on thee the priests of the high places who are making perfume on thee, and bones of man are burnt on thee.’ ³And he hath given on that day a sign, saying, ‘This is the sign that Jehovah hath spoken, Lo, the altar is rent, and the ashes poured forth that are on it.’ ⁴And it cometh to pass, at the king’s hearing the word of the man of God that he calleth against the altar in Beth-El, that Jeroboam putteth forth his hand from off the altar, saying, ‘Catch him;’ and his hand is dried up that he hath put forth against him, and he is not able to bring it back unto him, ⁵and the altar is rent, and the ashes poured forth from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah. ⁶And the king answereth and saith unto the man of God, ‘Appease, I pray thee, the face of Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, and my hand doth come back unto me;’ and the man of God appeaseth the face of Jehovah, and the hand of the king cometh back unto him, and it is as at the beginning. ⁷And the king speaketh unto the man of God, ‘Come in with me to the house, and refresh thyself, and I give to thee a gift.’ ⁸And the man of God saith unto the king, ‘If thou dost give to me the half of thine house, I do not go in with thee, nor do I eat bread, nor do I drink water, in this place; ⁹for so He commanded me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink water, nor turn back in the way that thou hast come.’ ¹⁰And he goeth on in another way, and hath not turned back in the way in which he came in unto Beth-El.

¹¹And a certain aged prophet is dwelling in Beth-El, and his son cometh and recounteth to him all the deed that the man of God hath done to-day in Beth-El, the words that he hath spoken unto the king,—yea, they recount them to their father. ¹²And their father saith unto them, ‘Where is this—the way he hath gone?’ and his sons see the way that the man of God hath gone who came from Judah. ¹³And he saith unto his sons, ‘Saddle for me the ass,’ and they saddle for him the ass, and he rideth on it, ¹⁴and goeth after the man of God, and findeth him sitting under the oak, and saith unto him, ‘Art thou the man of God who hast come from Judah?’ and he saith, ‘I am.’ ¹⁵And he saith unto him, ‘Come with me to the house, and eat bread.’ ¹⁶And he saith, ‘I am not able to turn back with thee, and to go in with thee, nor do I eat bread or drink with thee water in this place, ¹⁷for a word is unto me by the word of Jehovah, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink there water, thou dost not turn back to go in the way in which thou camest.’ ¹⁸And he saith to him, ‘I also am a prophet like thee, and a messenger spake unto me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Bring him back with thee unto thy house, and he doth eat bread and drink water;’—he hath lied to him. ¹⁹And he turneth back with him, and eateth bread in his house, and drinketh water. ²⁰And it cometh to pass—they are sitting at the table—and a word of Jehovah is unto the prophet who brought him back, ²¹and he calleth unto the man of God who came from Judah, saying, ‘Thus said Jehovah, Because that thou hast provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and hast not kept the command that Jehovah thy God charged thee, ²²and turnest back and dost eat bread and drink water in the place of which He said unto thee, Thou dost not eat bread nor drink water—thy carcase cometh not in unto the burying-place of thy fathers.’

²³And it cometh to pass, after his eating bread, and after his drinking, that he saddleth for him the ass, for the prophet whom he had brought back, ²⁴and he goeth, and a lion findeth him in the way, and putteth him to death, and his carcase is cast in the way, and the ass is standing near it, and the lion is standing near the carcase. ²⁵And lo, men are passing by, and see the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing near the carcase, and they come and speak of it in the city in which the old prophet is dwelling. ²⁶And the prophet who brought him back out of the way heareth and saith, ‘It is the man of God who provoked the mouth of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth him to the lion, and it destroyeth him, and putteth him to death, according to the word of Jehovah that he spake to him.’ ²⁷And he…