| New International Version | NET Bible |
| 1Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. | 1Rehoboam traveled to Shechem, for all Israel had gathered in Shechem to make Rehoboam 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 the news, 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: | 3They sent for him, and Jeroboam and the whole Israelite assembly came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, |
| 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 made us work too hard. Now if you lighten the demands he made and don't make us work as hard, we will serve you." |
| 5Rehoboam answered, "Go away for three days and then come back to me." So the people went away. | 5He said to them, "Go away for three days, then return to me." So the people went away. |
| 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. | 6King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them, "How do you advise me to answer these people?" |
| 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 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." |
| 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 their advice and consulted the young advisers who served him, with whom he had grown up. |
| 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, "How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, 'Lessen the demands your father placed 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 advisers with whom Rehoboam 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.' Say this to them: 'I am a lot harsher than my father! |
| 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.'" | 11My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh.'" |
| 12Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, "Come back to me in three days." | 12Jeroboam and all the people reported to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, "Return to me on the third day." |
| 13The king answered the people harshly. Rejecting the advice given him by the elders, | 13The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men |
| 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 followed the advice of the younger ones. He said, "My father imposed heavy demands on you; I will make them even heavier. My father punished you with ordinary whips; I will punish you with whips that really sting your flesh." |
| 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. | 15The king refused to listen to the people, because the LORD was instigating this turn of events so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat. |
| 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 refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, "We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse! Return to your homes, O Israel! Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!" So Israel returned to their homes. |
| 17But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them. | 17(Rehoboam continued to rule over the Israelites who lived 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. | 18King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, the supervisor of the work crews, out after them, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam managed to jump into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. |
| 19So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. | 19So Israel has been in rebellion against the Davidic dynasty to this very day. |
| 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. No one except the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the Davidic dynasty. |
| 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. | 21When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he summoned 180,000 skilled warriors from all of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin to attack Israel and restore the kingdom to Rehoboam son of Solomon. |
| 22But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: | 22But God told Shemaiah the prophet, |
| 23"Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to all Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, | 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, |
| 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. | 24The 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."'" They obeyed the LORD and went home as the LORD had ordered them to do. |
| 25Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel. | 25Jeroboam built up Shechem in the Ephraimite hill country and lived there. From there he went out and built up Penuel. |
| 26Jeroboam thought to himself, "The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. | 26Jeroboam then thought to himself: "Now the Davidic dynasty could regain the kingdom. |
| 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 LORD's temple in Jerusalem, their loyalty could shift to their former master, King Rehoboam of Judah. They might kill me and return to King Rehoboam 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 the king had consulted with his advisers, he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, "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." |
| 29One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. | 29He put one 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. | 30This caused Israel to sin; the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves. |
| 31Jeroboam built shrines on high places and appointed priests from all sorts of people, even though they were not Levites. | 31He built temples on the high places and appointed as priests people 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. | 32Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival celebrated in Judah. On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made. |
| 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 date he had arbitrarily chosen) Jeroboam offered sacrifices on the altar he had made in Bethel. He inaugurated a festival for the Israelites and went up to the altar to offer sacrifices. |
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