1 En Reh beam het na Sigem gegaan, want die hele Israel het na Sigem gekom om hom koning te maak.
2 En net toe Jerobeam, die seun van Nebat, dit hoor -- hy was nog in Egipte, waarheen hy vir koning Salomo weggevlug het, en Jerobeam was in Egipte woonagtig,
3 en hulle het hom laat roep -- kom Jerobeam en die hele vergadering van Israel, en hulle het Reh beam toegespreek en gesê:
4 U vader het ons juk hard gemaak, maak u dan nou die harde diens van u vader en sy swaar juk wat hy ons opgelê het, ligter; dan sal ons u dien.
5 En hy sê vir hulle: Gaan weg tot oor drie dae, kom dan terug na my toe. En die volk het gegaan.
6 Daarop hou koning Reh beam raad met die oudstes wat voor sy vader Salomo gedurende sy lewe gestaan het, en hy vra: Wat raai u aan om hierdie volk te antwoord?
7 En hulle spreek met hom en sê: As u vandag 'n dienaar van hierdie volk word en hulle dien en hulle antwoord en met vriendelike woorde hulle toespreek, sal hulle altyd u dienaars wees.
8 Maar hy het die raad van die oudstes wat hulle hom gegee het, in die wind geslaan en raad gehou met die jongmanne wat saam met hom grootgeword en voor hom gestaan het.
9 En hy vra hulle: Wat raai julle aan dat ons hierdie volk sal antwoord wat my toegespreek en gesê het: Maak die juk wat u vader ons opgelê het, ligter?
10 En die jongmanne wat saam met hom grootgeword het, antwoord hom en sê: So moet u hierdie volk antwoord wat met u gespreek en gesê het: U vader het ons juk swaar gemaak, maar maak u dit ligter oor ons -- so moet u hulle antwoord: My pinkie is dikker as my vader se lendene.
11 Het my vader dan nou 'n swaar juk op julle gelaai -- ,k sal by julle juk nog byvoeg; het my vader julle met die sweep getugtig -- ,k sal julle met g,sels tugtig.
12 Toe Jerobeam en die hele volk dan by Reh beam kom op die derde dag soos die koning gespreek en gesê het: Kom na my terug op die derde dag --
13 het die koning die volk 'n harde antwoord gegee: hy het die raad wat hom deur die oudstes gegee is, in die wind geslaan
14 en met hulle gespreek volgens die raad van die jongmanne en gesê: Het my vader julle juk swaar gemaak -- ,k sal by julle juk nog byvoeg; het my vader julle met die sweep getugtig -- ,k sal julle met g,sels tugtig.
15 So het die koning dan nie na die volk geluister nie, want dit was 'n beskikking van die HERE, sodat Hy sy woord sou vervul wat die HERE gespreek het deur die diens van Ah¡a, die Siloniet, tot Jerobeam, die seun van Nebat.
16 Toe die hele Israel sien dat die koning nie na hulle luister nie, het die volk die koning geantwoord en gesê: Watter aandeel het ons aan Dawid? en daar is geen erfdeel aan die seun van Isai nie! Na julle tente toe, Israel! Kyk nou na jou eie huis, Dawid! Daarop het Israel na sy tente gegaan.
17 Maar oor die kinders van Israel wat in die stede van Juda gewoon het, oor hulle was Reh beam koning.
18 Toe stuur koning Reh beam Adoram wat oor die dwangarbeid was, maar die hele Israel het hom gestenig, sodat hy gesterf het; en koning Reh beam het hom tot die uiterste toe geweer om op 'n wa te klim, om na Jerusalem te vlug.
19 So het die Israeliete dan van die huis van Dawid afvallig geword tot vandag toe.
20 Sodra die hele Israel gehoor het dat Jerobeam terug was, het hulle hom na die vergadering laat roep en hom oor die hele Israel koning gemaak; niemand het die huis van Dawid gevolg nie, behalwe die stam van Juda alleen.
21 En toe Reh beam in Jerusalem kom, het hy die hele huis van Juda en die stam van Benjamin, honderd en tagtig duisend strydbare jong manskappe, vergader om oorlog te voer teen die huis van Israel, om die koningskap vir Reh beam, die seun van Salomo, terug te win.
22 Maar die woord van God het tot Sem ja, die man van God, gekom en gesê:
23 Spreek met Reh beam, die seun van Salomo, die koning van Juda, en met die hele huis van Juda en Benjamin en die orige deel van die volk en sê:
24 So spreek die HERE: Julle mag nie optrek en teen julle broers, die kinders van Israel, oorlog voer nie; julle moet omdraai, elkeen na sy huis; want van My het hierdie saak gekom. Hulle het toe geluister na die woord van die HERE en weer teruggetrek volgens die woord van die HERE.
25 En Jerobeam het Sigem op die gebergte van Efraim gebou en daarin gewoon, en daarvandaan uitgetrek en Pnuel gebou.
26 En Jerobeam het in sy hart gesê: Nou sal die koningskap na die huis van Dawid terugkeer:
27 as hierdie volk opgaan om offers te bring in die huis van die HERE in Jerusalem, dan sal die hart van hierdie volk terugkeer na hulle heer, na Reh beam, die koning van Juda, en hulle sal my om die lewe bring en teruggaan na Reh beam, die koning van Juda.
28 Daarom het die koning raad gehou en twee goue kalwers gemaak en aan hulle gesê: Julle het lank genoeg opgegaan na Jerusalem -- hier is, o Israel, jou gode wat jou uit Egipteland laat optrek het!
29 En die een het hy in Bet-el opgerig en die ander in Dan opgestel.
30 En hierdie saak het tot sonde geword; ja, die volk het voor die een gaan aanbid tot by Dan.
31 Hy het ook tempels van die hoogtes gebou en priesters aangestel uit al die dele van die volk wat nie uit die seuns van Levi was nie.
32 En Jerobeam het 'n fees gehou in die agtste maand, op die vyftiende dag van die maand, soos die fees wat in Juda was, en op die altaar geklim. So het hy in Bet-el gedoen en geoffer aan die kalwers wat hy gemaak het, en ook in Bet-el priesters aangestel vir die hoogtes wat hy gemaak het.
33 En hy het geklim op die altaar wat hy in Bet-el gemaak het, op die vyftiende dag in die agtste maand, in die maand wat hy uit sy eie hart versin het, en vir die kinders van Israel 'n fees ingestel en op die altaar geklim om offerrook te laat opgaan.
1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, where all Israel had come together to make him king,
2 And, hearing of it, Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who was still in Egypt, where he had gone in flight from Solomon, and was living there, came back to his town Zeredah, in the hill-country of Ephraim;
3 And all the men of Israel came to Rehoboam and said,
4 Your father put a hard yoke on us: if you will make the conditions under which your father kept us down less cruel, and the weight of the yoke he put on us less hard, then we will be your servants.
5 And he said to them, Go away for three days and then come back to me again. So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam took the opinion of the old men who had been with Solomon his father when he was living, and said, In your opinion, what answer am I to give to this people?
7 And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people today, caring for them and giving them a gentle answer, then they will be your servants for ever.
8 But he gave no attention to the opinion of the old men, and went to the young men of his generation who were waiting before him:
9 And said to them, What is your opinion? What answer are we to give to this people who have said to me, Make less the weight of the yoke which your father put on us?
10 And the young men of his generation said to him, This is the answer to give to the people who came to you saying, Your father put a hard yoke on us; will you make it less? say to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's body;
11 If my father put a hard yoke on you, I will make it harder: my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give you blows with snakes.
12 So all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had given orders, saying, Come back to me the third day.
13 And the king gave them a rough answer, giving no attention to the suggestion of the old men;
14 But giving them the answer put forward by the young men, saying, My father made your yoke hard, but I will make it harder; my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give it with snakes.
15 So the king did not give ear to the people; and this came about by the purpose of the Lord, so that what he had said by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam, son of Nebat, might be effected.
16 And when all Israel saw that the king would give no attention to them, the people in answer said to the king, What part have we in David? what is our heritage in the son of Jesse? to your tents, O Israel; now see to your people, David. So Israel went away to their tents.
17 (But Rehoboam was still king over those of the children of Israel who were living in the towns of Judah.)
18 Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, the overseer of the forced work; and he was stoned to death by all Israel. And King Rehoboam went quickly and got into his carriage to go in flight to Jerusalem.
19 So Israel was turned away from the family of David to this day.
20 Now when all Israel had news that Jeroboam had come back, they sent for him to come before the meeting of the people, and made him king over Israel: not one of them was joined to the family of David but only the tribe of Judah.
21 When Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he got together all the men of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand of his best fighting-men, to make war against Israel and get the kingdom back for Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.
22 But the word of God came to Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,
23 Say to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the men of Judah and Benjamin and the rest of the people:
24 The Lord has said, You are not to go to war against your brothers, the children of Israel; go back, every man to his house, because this thing is my purpose. So they gave ear to the word of the Lord, and went back, as the Lord had said.
25 Then Jeroboam made the town of Shechem in the hill-country of Ephraim a strong place, and was living there; and from there he went out and did the same to Penuel.
26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom will go back to the family of David:
27 If the people go up to make offerings in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, their heart will be turned again to their lord, to Rehoboam, king of Judah; and they will put me to death and go back to Rehoboam, king of Judah.
28 So after taking thought the king made two oxen of gold; and he said to the people, You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough; see! these are your gods, O Israel, who took you out of the land of Egypt.
29 And he put one in Beth-el and the other in Dan.
30 And this became a sin in Israel; for the people went to give worship to the one at Beth-el, and to the other at Dan.
31 And he made places for worship at the high places, and made priests, who were not Levites, from among all the people.
32 And Jeroboam gave orders for a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is kept in Judah, and he went up to the altar. And in the same way, in Beth-el, he gave offerings to the oxen which he had made, placing in Beth-el the priests of the high places he had made.
33 He went up to the altar he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the month fixed by him at his pleasure; and he gave orders for a feast for the people of Israel, and went up to the altar, and there he made the smoke of his offerings go up.