First Book of Kings, Chapter 12

Aug 12, 2020 at 23:02 Twitter · Facebook

1 Kings 12 NASB - New American Standard Bible

Chapter 12 of 1 Kings—New American Standard Bible (NASB)

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1. ¶ ¹Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to ²Shechem to make him king.
2. Now ³when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, ^[a]he was living in Egypt (for he was yet in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of King Solomon).
3. Then they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
4. “⁴Your father made our yoke hard; now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.”
5. Then he said to them, “⁵Depart ^[b]for three days, then return to me.” So the people departed.
6. ¶ King Rehoboam ⁶consulted with the elders who had ^[c]served his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you counsel me to answer this people?”
7. Then they spoke to him, saying, “⁷If you will be a servant to this people today, and will serve them and ^[d]grant them their petition, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.”
8. But he forsook the counsel of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who grew up with him ^[e]and served him.
9. So he said to them, “What counsel do you give that we may answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, ‘Lighten the yoke which your father put on us’?”
10. The young men who grew up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you shall say to this people who spoke to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!’ But you shall speak to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins!
11. Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”
12. ¶ Then Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day as the king had ^[f]directed, saying, “⁸Return to me on the third day.”
13. The king answered the people harshly, for he forsook the advice of the elders which they had ^[g]given him,
14. and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “⁹My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.”
15. So the king did not listen to the people; ¹⁰for it was a turn of events from the LORD, ¹¹that He might establish His word, which the LORD spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16. ¶ When all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying,
    ¶ “What portion do we have in David?
    We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse;
    ¹²To your tents, O Israel!
    Now look after your own house, David!”
    ¶ So Israel departed to their tents.
17. But ¹³as for the sons of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
18. Then King Rehoboam sent ¹⁴Adoram, who was over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him ^[h]to death. And King Rehoboam made haste to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.
19. ¹⁵So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
20. ¶ It came about when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, that they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. ¹⁶None but the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.
21. ¶ ¹⁷Now when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22. But the word of God came to ¹⁸Shemaiah the man of God, saying,
23. “Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin and to the ¹⁹rest of the people, saying,
24. ‘Thus says the LORD, “You must not go up and fight against your ^[i]relatives the sons of Israel; return every man to his house, ²⁰for this thing has come from Me.”’” So they listened to the word of the LORD, and returned and went their way according to the word of the LORD.
25. ¶ Then ²¹Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and lived ^[j]there. And he went out from there and built ²²Penuel.
26. Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.
27. ²³If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.”
28. So the king ^[k]consulted, and ²⁴made two golden ²⁵calves, and he said to them, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; ²⁶behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
29. He set ²⁷one in ²⁸Bethel, and the other he put in ²⁹Dan.
30. Now ³⁰this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.
31. And ³¹he made houses on high places, and ³²made priests from among ^[l]all the people who were not of the sons of Levi.
32. Jeroboam ^[m]instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, ³³like the feast which is in Judah, and he ^[n]went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel ³⁴the priests of the high places which he had made.
33. Then he ^[o]went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had ^[p]35devised ^[q]in his own heart; and he ^[r]instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and ^[s]went up to the altar ³⁶to burn ^[t]incense.

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FOOTNOTES

1. ^ Lit Jeroboam
2. ^ Lit yet three
3. ^ Lit stood before
4. ^ Lit answer them
5. ^ Lit who stood before
6. ^ Lit spoken
7. ^ Lit advised
8. ^ Lit with stones that he died
9. ^ Lit brothers
10. ^ Lit in it
11. ^ Lit took counsel
12. ^ Or extremities of
13. ^ Lit made
14. ^ Or offered upon
15. ^ Or offered upon
16. ^ Lit made
17. ^ Lit from
18. ^ Lit made
19. ^ Or offered upon
20. ^ Or sacrifices

REFERENCES

1. ^ 2Ch 10:1
2. ^ Jg 9:6
3. ^ 1Ki 11:26, 40
4. ^ 1Sa 8:11-18; 1Ki 4:7, 21-25; 9:15
5. ^ 1Ki 12:12
6. ^ 1Ki 4:1-6; Jb 12:12; 32:7
7. ^ 2Ch 10:7; Pr 15:1
8. ^ 1Ki 12:5
9. ^ Ex 1:13, 14; 5:5-9, 16-18
10. ^ De 2:30; Jg 14:4; 1Ki 12:24; 2Ch 10:15
11. ^ 1Ki 11:11, 31
12. ^ 2Sa 20:1
13. ^ 1Ki 11:13, 36
14. ^ 2Sa 20:24; 1Ki 4:6; 5:14
15. ^ 2Ki 17:21
16. ^ 1Ki 11:13, 32, 36
17. ^ 2Ch 11:1
18. ^ 2Ch 11:2; 12:5-7
19. ^ 1Ki 12:17
20. ^ 1Ki 12:15
21. ^ Ge 12:6; Jg 9:45-49
22. ^ Ge 32:30, 31; Jg 8:8, 17
23. ^ De 12:5-7, 14
24. ^ 2Ki 10:29; 17:16; Ho 8:4-7
25. ^ Ho 10:5
26. ^ Ex 32:4, 8
27. ^ Ho 10:5
28. ^ Ge 28:19
29. ^ Jg 18:26-31
30. ^ 1Ki 13:34; 2Ki 17:21
31. ^ 1Ki 13:32
32. ^ 1Ki 13:33; 2Ki 17:32; 2Ch 11:15; 13:9
33. ^ Le 23:33, 34; Nu 29:12; 1Ki 8:2, 5
34. ^ Am 7:10-13
35. ^ Nu 15:39
36. ^ 1Ki 13:1

Read 1 Kings Chapter 12 in other Bible versions:

• 1 Kings Chapter 12 - ASV
• 1 Kings Chapter 12 - KJV
• 1 Kings Chapter 12 - NWT
• 1 Kings Chapter 12 - RSV