1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
2 So it happened, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (he was still in Egypt, for he had fled from before King Solomon and had been dwelling in Egypt),
3 that they sent and called for him. Then Jeroboam and the whole assembly of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,
4 Your father had made our yoke severe; now therefore, lighten the hard service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he had put on us, and we will serve you.
5 So he said to them, Go away for three days, then come back to me. And the people departed.
6 And King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, How do you counsel me to answer these people?
7 And they spoke to him, saying, If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak agreeable words to them, then they will be your servants all your days.
8 But he rejected the counsel which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who were standing before him.
9 And he said to them, What counsel do you give? How should we answer this people who have spoken to me, saying, Lighten the yoke which your father has put on us?
10 And the young men who had grown up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus you shall speak to this people who have spoken to you, saying, Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter on us; thus you shall say to them: My little finger has become fatter than my fathers loins!
11 And now, whereas my father put a heavy yoke on you, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions!
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had spoken, saying, Come back to me the third day.
13 And the king answered the people harshly, and rejected the counsel which the elders had given him;
14 and he 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!
15 Thus the king did not give heed to the people; for the turn of events was from Jehovah, to establish His word, which Jehovah had spoken by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 And when all Israel saw that the king had not heeded them, the people answered the king, saying: What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. To your tents, O Israel! Now, see to your own house, O David! And Israel departed to their tents.
17 Thus Rehoboam reigned over the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah.
18 And King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute, but all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam mounted his chariot in haste to flee to Jerusalem.
19 Thus Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
20 And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, that they sent for him and called him to the congregation, and made him king over all Israel. There was no one who followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
21 And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand choice men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
22 But the Word of God came to Shemaiah 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 rest of the people, saying,
24 Thus says Jehovah: You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing has come about from Me. Therefore they obeyed the Word of Jehovah, and returned to go back, according to the Word of Jehovah.
25 And Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel.
26 And Jeroboam thought in his heart, Now the kingdom may return to the house of David:
27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.
28 Therefore the king took counsel, made two calves of gold, and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!
29 And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.
30 Now this thing became a sin, for the people went before the one, even as far as Dan.
31 He made houses on the high places, and made priests from among all the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.
32 And Jeroboam instituted a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the feast that was in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the altar. Thus he did at Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he had made. And at Bethel he installed the priests of the high places which he had made.
33 Thus he offered up on the altar which he had made at Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had contrived in his own heart. And he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and offered sacrifices on the altar and burned incense.