| New International Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. | 1Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. |
| 2When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. | 2When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard about this, he was still in Egypt where he had fled from King Solomon and had been living ever since. |
| 3So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: | 3So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel came to Rehoboam and said, |
| 4"Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you." | 4“Your father put a heavy yoke on us. But now you should lighten the burden of your father’s service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” |
| 5Rehoboam answered, "Go away for three days and then come back to me." So the people went away. | 5Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then return to me.” So the people departed. |
| 6Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. "How would you advise me to answer these people?" he asked. | 6Then King Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How do you advise me to respond to these people?” he asked. |
| 7They replied, "If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants." | 7They replied, “If you will be a servant to these people and serve them this day, and if you will respond by speaking kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.” |
| 8But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. | 8But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him. |
| 9He asked them, "What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, 'Lighten the yoke your father put on us'?" | 9He asked them, “What message do you advise that we send back to these people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?” |
| 10The young men who had grown up with him replied, "These people have said to you, 'Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.' Now tell them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's waist. | 10The young men who had grown up with him replied, “This is how you should answer these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you should make it lighter.’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! |
| 11My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.'" | 11Whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.’ ” |
| 12Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days." | 12After three days, Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, since the king had said, “Come back to me on the third day.” |
| 13The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, | 13And the king answered the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the elders |
| 14he followed the advice of the young men and said, "My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions." | 14and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.” |
| 15So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word the LORD had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite. | 15So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite. |
| 16When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king: "What share do we have in David, what part in Jesse's son? To your tents, Israel! Look after your own house, David!" So the Israelites went home. | 16When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, O David!” So the Israelites went home, |
| 17But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them. | 17but Rehoboam still reigned over the Israelites living in the cities of Judah. |
| 18King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. | 18Then King Rehoboam sent out Adoram, who was in charge of the forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste and escaped to Jerusalem. |
| 19So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. | 19So to this day Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David. |
| 20When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David. | 20When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David. |
| 21When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin--a hundred and eighty thousand able young men--to go to war against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon. | 21And when Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mobilized the whole house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—180,000 chosen warriors—to fight against the house of Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon. |
| 22But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: | 22But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: |
| 23"Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, | 23“Tell Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people |
| 24This is what the LORD says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.'" So they obeyed the word of the LORD and went home again, as the LORD had ordered. | 24that this is what the LORD says: ‘You are not to go up and fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Each of you must return home, for this word is from Me.’ ” So they listened to the word of the LORD and turned back according to the word of the LORD. |
| 25Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel. | 25Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And from there he went out and built Penuel. |
| 26Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. | 26Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom might revert to the house of David. |
| 27If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam." | 27If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, their hearts will return to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah; then they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” |
| 28After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." | 28After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, “Going up to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” |
| 29One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. | 29One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. |
| 30And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other. | 30And this thing became a sin; the people walked as far as Dan to worship before one of the calves. |
| 31Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. | 31Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and appointed from every class of people priests who were not Levites. |
| 32He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made. And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had made. | 32And Jeroboam ordained a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up, and he installed priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up. |
| 33On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, he offered sacrifices on the altar he had built at Bethel. So he instituted the festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to make offerings. | 33On the fifteenth day of the eighth month, a month of his own choosing, Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel. So he ordained a feast for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense. |
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