1 Kings 12 :: Revised Standard Version (RSV)

King Rehoboam Acts Foolishly

(2Ch 10:1–19; 11:1–4 )

1Ki 12:1Rehobo'am went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

1Ki 12:2And when Jerobo'am the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, whither he had fled from King Solomon), then Jerobo'am returned from Egypt.

1Ki 12:3

1Ki 12:3And they sent and called him; and Jerobo'am and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehobo'am,

1Ki 12:4

1Ki 12:4"Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke upon us, and we will serve you."

1Ki 12:5

1Ki 12:5He said to them, "Depart for three days, then come again to me." So the people went away.

1Ki 12:6

1Ki 12:6Then King Rehobo'am took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, "How do you advise me to answer this people?"

1Ki 12:7

1Ki 12:7And they said to him, "If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants for ever."

1Ki 12:8

1Ki 12:8But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.

1Ki 12:9

1Ki 12:9And he said to them, "What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, 'Lighten the yoke that your father put upon us'?"

1Ki 12:10

1Ki 12:10And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, "Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, 'Your father made our yoke heavy, but do you lighten it for us'; thus shall you say to them, 'My little finger is thicker than my father's loins.

1Ki 12:11

1Ki 12:11And now, whereas my father laid upon you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.'"

1Ki 12:12

1Ki 12:12So Jerobo'am and all the people came to Rehobo'am the third day, as the king said, "Come to me again the third day."

1Ki 12:13

1Ki 12:13And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel which the old men had given him,

1Ki 12:14

1Ki 12:14he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, "My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."

1Ki 12:15

1Ki 12:15So the king did not hearken to the people; for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the LORD that he might fulfil his word, which the LORD spoke by Ahi'jah the Shi'lonite to Jerobo'am the son of Nebat.

The Kingdom Divided; Jeroboam Rules Israel

1Ki 12:16

1Ki 12:16And when all Israel saw that the king did not hearken to them, the people answered the king, "What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David." So Israel departed to their tents.

1Ki 12:17

1Ki 12:17But Rehobo'am reigned over the people of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.

1Ki 12:18

1Ki 12:18Then King Rehobo'am sent Ador'am, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehobo'am made haste to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

1Ki 12:19

1Ki 12:19So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

1Ki 12:20

1Ki 12:20And when all Israel heard that Jerobo'am had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

1Ki 12:21

1Ki 12:21When Rehobo'am came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehobo'am the son of Solomon.

1Ki 12:22

1Ki 12:22But the word of God came to Shemai'ah the man of God:

1Ki 12:23

1Ki 12:23"Say to Rehobo'am the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people,

1Ki 12:24

1Ki 12:24'Thus says the LORD, You shall not go up or fight against your kinsmen the people of Israel. Return every man to his home, for this thing is from me.'" So they hearkened to the word of the LORD, and went home again, according to the word of the LORD.

Jeroboam's Idolatry

1Ki 12:25

1Ki 12:25Then Jerobo'am built Shechem in the hill country of E'phraim, and dwelt there; and he went out from there and built Penu'el.

1Ki 12:26

1Ki 12:26And Jerobo'am said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David;

1Ki 12:27

1Ki 12:27if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehobo'am king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehobo'am king of Judah."

1Ki 12:28

1Ki 12:28So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."

1Ki 12:29

1Ki 12:29And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

1Ki 12:30

1Ki 12:30And this thing became a sin, for the people went to the one at Bethel and to the other as far as Dan.

1Ki 12:31

1Ki 12:31He also made houses on high places, and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites.

1Ki 12:32

1Ki 12:32And Jerobo'am appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices upon the altar; so he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made.

1Ki 12:33

1Ki 12:33He went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and he ordained a feast for the people of Israel, and went up to the altar to burn incense.

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Source: Transcribed from: The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version containing the Old and New Testaments, translated from the original tongues: being the version set forth A.D. 1611, revised A.D. 1881-1885 and A.D. 1901: compared with the most ancient authorities and revised A.D. 1946-52. — 2nd ed. of New Testament A.D. 1971. There should be enough in the rest of the description to identify the text.

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Pericope

1 Kings Chapter 12 — Additional Translations: