1 Kings 12
Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, went to Shechem to be appointed king of Israel, but the people asked him to lighten the heavy yoke his father had imposed on them. Rehoboam consulted with the elders, who advised him to yield to the people's petition, but he instead took the counsel of the young men, who told him to increase the yoke. Rehoboam spoke harshly to the people, who then rejected him as king and returned to their tents. The tribe of Judah, along with the tribe of Benjamin, remained loyal to Rehoboam, while the rest of Israel appointed Jeroboam as their king.
1Then Rehoboam went to Shechem. For in that place, all of Israel had gathered to appoint him as king2Yet truly, Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, while he was still in Egypt as a fugitive from the face of king Solomon, hearing of his death, returned from Egypt3And they sent and called him. Therefore, Jeroboam went, with the entire multitude of Israel, and they spoke to Rehoboam, saying4"Your father imposed a very harsh yoke upon us. And so, you should now take away a little from the very harsh rule of your father and from his very grievous yoke, which he imposed upon us, and we will serve you.5And he said to them, "Go away, until the third day, and then return to me." And when the people had gone away6king Rehoboam took counsel with the elders who had assisted before his father Solomon while he was still living. And he said, "What counsel do you give to me, so that I may respond to this people?7They said to him, "If today you will obey and serve this people, and yield to their petition, and if you will speak lenient words to them, they will be your servants for all days.8But he abandoned the counsel of the old men, which they had given to him. And he consulted the young men who had been raised with him, and who were assisting him9And he said to them: "What counsel do you give to me, so that I may respond to this people, who have said to me: ‘Make light the yoke that your father imposed on us?’ 10And the young men who had been raised with him, said: "You shall speak in this way to this people, who have spoken to you, saying: ‘Your father weighed down our yoke. You should relieve us.’ You shall say this to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than the back of my father11And now, my father placed a heavy yoke upon you, but I will add more upon your yoke. My father cut you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.’ 12Therefore, Jeroboam and all the people went to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had spoken, saying, "Return to me on the third day.13And the king responded to the people harshly, leaving behind the counsel of the elders that they had given to him14And he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying: "My father weighed down your yoke, but I will add more to your yoke. My father cut you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.15And the king did not acquiesce to the people. For the Lord had turned him away, so that he might raise up his word, which he had spoken by the hand of Ahijah, the Shilonite, to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat16And so the people, seeing that the king had not been willing to listen to them, responded to him, saying: "What part do we have in David? Or what inheritance do we have in the son of Jesse? Go to your own tents, O Israel. Now David, see to your own house." And Israel went away to their own tents17But over all the sons of Israel who were living in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned18Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute. And all of Israel stoned him, and he died. Therefore, king Rehoboam hurrying, climbed into the chariot, and fled to Jerusalem19And Israel drew away from the house of David, even to the present day20And it happened that, when all of Israel had heard that Jeroboam had returned, gathering an assembly, they sent and called him, and they appointed him as king over all of Israel. And no one followed the house of David, except the tribe of Judah alone21Then Rehoboam went to Jerusalem, and he gathered together the entire house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand elect men of war, so that they might fight against the house of Israel, and might bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon22But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying23"Speak to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, the king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah, and to Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying24‘Thus says the Lord: You shall not go up, and you shall not make war against your brothers, the sons of Israel. Let each man return to his own house. For this word came from me.’ " And they listened to the word of the Lord, and they returned from the journey, as the Lord had instructed them25Then Jeroboam built up Shechem, on mount Ephraim, and he lived there. And departing from there, he built up Penuel26And Jeroboam said in his heart: "Now the kingdom will return to the house of David27if this people ascend to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem. And the heart of this people will be converted to their lord Rehoboam, the king of Judah, and they will put me to death, and return to him.28And devising a plan, he made two golden calves. And he said to them: "No longer choose to ascend to Jerusalem. Behold, these are your gods, O Israel, who led you away from the land of Egypt!29And he stationed one in Bethel, and the other in Dan30And this word became an occasion of sin. For the people went to adore the calf, even to Dan31And he made shrines on the high places, and he made priests out of the lowest people, who were not of the sons of Levi32And he appointed a solemn day in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, in imitation of the solemnity that was celebrated in Judah. And ascending to the altar, he acted similarly in Bethel, so that he immolated to the calves, which he had made. And in Bethel, he appointed priests of the high places, which he had made33And he ascended to the altar, which he had raised up in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the day that he had decided in his own heart. And he made a solemnity to the sons of Israel, and he ascended to the altar, so that he might burn incense
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