12:1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel had come to
Shechem to make him king.
12:2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who
was yet in Egypt, heard [of it], (for he had fled from the
presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;)
12:3 That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the
congregation of Israel came, and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
12:4 Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou
the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he
put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
12:5 And he said to them, Depart yet [for] three days, then come
again to me. And the people departed.
12:6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men that stood
before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do
ye advise that I may answer this people?
12:7 And they spoke to him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant to
this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and
speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for
ever.
12:8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had
given him, and consulted with the young men that had grown up
with him, [and] who stood before him:
12:9 And he said to them, What counsel give ye that we may
answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the
yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
12:10 And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him,
saying, Thus shalt thou speak to this people who spoke to thee,
saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou [it]
lighter to us; thus shalt thou say to them, My little [finger]
shall be thicker than my father's loins.
12:11 And now whereas my father burdened you with a heavy yoke,
I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with
whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
12:12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third
day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the
third day.
12:13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the
old men's counsel that they gave him;
12:14 And spoke to them after the counsel of the young men,
saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your
yoke: my father [also] chastised you with whips, but I will
chastise you with scorpions.
12:15 Wherefore the king hearkened not to the people; for the
cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying,
which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the
son of Nebat.
12:16 So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to
them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have
we in David? neither [have we] inheritance in the son of Jesse:
to your tents, O Israel: now see to thy own house, David. So
Israel departed to their tents.
12:17 But [as for] the children of Israel who dwelt in the
cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
12:18 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who [was] over the
tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died.
Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to enter his chariot, to
flee to Jerusalem.
12:19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day.
12:20 And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam
had come again, that they sent and called him to the
congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none
that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
12:21 And when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all
the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and
eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against
the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the
son of Solomon.
12:22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God,
saying,
12:23 Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon king of Judah, and to
all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the
people, saying,
12:24 Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against
your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his
house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to
the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the
word of the LORD.
12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt in
it, and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
12:26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom
return to the house of David:
12:27 If this people go up to perform sacrifice in the house of
the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn
again to their lord, [even] to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they
shall kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.
12:28 Upon which the king took counsel, and made two calves [of]
gold, and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to
Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of
the land of Egypt.
12:29 And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other he placed in
Dan.
12:30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went [to
worship] before the one, [even] to Dan.
12:31 And he made a house of high places, and made priests of
the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the
fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that [is] in Judah,
and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Beth-el,
sacrificing to the calves that he had made: and he placed in
Beth-el the priests of the high places which he had made.
12:33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el
the fifteenth day of the eighth month, [even] in the month
which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast to
the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and
burnt incense.
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