12 And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

² And it came to pass when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard it (now he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;

³ and they sent and called him), that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,

⁴ Thy father made our yoke grievous; and now lighten thou the grievous servitude of thy father and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

⁵ And he said to them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.

⁶ And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, How do ye advise to return answer to this people?

⁷ And they spoke to him saying, If this day thou wilt be a servant to this people, and wilt serve them and answer them and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever.

⁸ But he forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him, and consulted with the young men, who had grown up with him, that stood before him.

⁹ And he said to them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people who have spoken to me saying, Lighten the yoke which thy father put upon us?

¹⁰ And the young men that had grown up with him spoke to him saying, Thus shalt thou say to this people that have spoken to thee saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, and lighten thou it for us,—thus shalt thou say to them: My little [finger] is thicker than my father's loins;

¹¹ and whereas my father laid a heavy yoke upon you, *I* will add to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but *I* will chastise you with scorpions.

¹² And Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed saying, Come again to me on the third day.

¹³ And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the advice of the old men which they had given him;

¹⁴ and he spoke to them according to the advice 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 So the king hearkened not to the people; for it was brought about by Jehovah, that he might give effect to his word, which Jehovah spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶ And all Israel saw that the king hearkened not to them; and the people answered the king saying, What portion have we in David? And [we have] no inheritance in the son of Jesse: To your tents, O Israel! Now see to thine own house, David! And Israel went to their tents.

¹⁷ But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

¹⁸ And king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the levy; but all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. And king Rehoboam hastened to mount his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.

¹⁹ And Israel rebelled against the house of David, unto this day.

²⁰ And it came to pass when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had come back, that they sent and called him to the assembly, and made him king over all Israel: none followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

²¹ And Rehoboam came to Jerusalem; and he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men apt for war, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

²² But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

²³ Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remainder of the people, saying,

²⁴ Thus saith Jehovah: Go not up, nor fight with your brethren, the children of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing is from me. And they hearkened to the word of Jehovah, and returned to depart, according to the word of Jehovah.

²⁵ And Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.

²⁶ And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David.

²⁷ If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.

²⁸ And the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. And he said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!

²⁹ And he set the one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

³⁰ And this thing became a sin; and the people went [to worship] before the one, as far as Dan.

³¹ And he made a house of high places, and made priests from all classes of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

³² And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he 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.

³³ And he offered upon the altar that he had made in Bethel, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and he made a feast for the children of Israel, and he offered upon the altar, burning incense.

13 And behold, there came a man of God from Judah, by the word of Jehovah, to Bethel; and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense.

² And he cried against the altar by the word of Jehovah, and said, O altar, altar! thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burned upon thee.

³ And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign that Jehovah hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

⁴ And it came to pass when the king heard the word of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Bethel, that Jeroboam stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand which he stretched out against him dried up, so that he could not bring it back again to him.

⁵ And the altar was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign that the man of God had given by the word of Jehovah.

⁶ And the king answered and said to the man of God, Intreat now Jehovah thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me again. And the man of God intreated Jehovah, and the king's hand was restored to him again, and became as before.

⁷ And the king said to the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a present.

⁸ And the man of God said to the king, If thou wilt give me half thy house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place;

⁹ for so was it charged me by the word of Jehovah, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink water, nor return by the way that thou shalt go.

¹⁰ So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he had come to Bethel.

¹¹ Now there dwelt a certain old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel; the words that he had spoken to the king, them they told also to their father.

¹² And their father said to them, Which way went he? for his sons had seen which way the man of God went, who came from Judah.

¹³ And he said to his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass; and he rode thereon,

¹⁴ and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under a terebinth; and he said to him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am.

¹⁵ And he said to him, Come home with me, and eat bread.

¹⁶ And he said, I cannot return with thee, nor go in with thee; neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place.

¹⁷ For it was said to me by the word of Jehovah, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou wentest.

¹⁸ And he said to him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spoke to me by the word of Jehovah saying, Bring him back with thee into thy house, that he may eat bread and drink water. He lied unto him.

¹⁹ Then he went back with him, and ate bread in his house, and drank water.

²⁰ And it came to pass as they sat at the table, that the word of Jehovah came to the prophet that brought him back;

²¹ and he cried to the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the word of Jehovah, and hast not kept the commandment that Jehovah thy God commanded thee,

²² but camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to thee, Eat no bread and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come to the sepulchre of thy fathers.

²³ And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled the ass for him, for the prophet that he had brought back;

²⁴ and he departed. And a lion met him by the way and slew him; and his corpse was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the corpse.

²⁵ And behold, men passed by, and saw the corpse cast in the way and the lion standing by the corpse; and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt.

²⁶ And the prophet that brought him back from the way heard [of it] and said, It is the man of God who was disobedient to the word of Jehovah; therefore Jehovah has delivered him to the lion, which has torn him and slain him, according to the word of Jehovah which he spoke to him.

²⁷ And he spoke to his sons saying, Saddle me the ass; and they saddled it.

²⁸ And he went and found his corpse cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the corpse: the lion had not eaten the corpse, nor torn the ass.

²⁹ And the prophet took up the corpse of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back; and the old prophet came into the city, to mourn and to bury him.

³⁰ And he laid his corpse in his own sepulchre; and they mourned over him [saying], Alas, my brother!

³¹ And it came to pass after he had buried him, that he spoke to his sons saying, When I am dead, bury me in the sepulchre in which the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones.

³² For the word that he cried by the word of Jehovah against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria, shall certainly come to pass.

³³ After this thing Jeroboam turned not from his evil way, but made again from all classes of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became [one] of the priests of the high places.

³⁴ And by this thing there was sin on the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

14 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam was sick.

² And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and go to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, who told me that [I should be] king over this people.

³ And take with thee ten loaves, and cakes, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he will tell thee what shall become of the lad.

⁴ And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. And Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.

⁵ And Jehovah said to Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee about her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her; for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign to be another.

⁶ And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou to be another? But I am sent to thee with a hard [message].

⁷ Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel,

⁸ and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee; and thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do only that which is right in my sight;

⁹ but thou hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back:

¹⁰ therefore behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone.

¹¹ Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat, and him that dieth in the field shall the fowl of the heavens eat; for Jehovah hath spoken.

¹² And thou, arise, go to thine own house; when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.

¹³ And all Israel shall mourn for him, and they shall bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something good toward Jehovah the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.

¹⁴ And Jehovah shall raise up for himself a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day; and what? … even now.

¹⁵ And Jehovah will smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he will root up Israel out of this good land which he gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their Asherahs, provoking Jehovah to anger.

¹⁶ And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, wherewith he has sinned, and made Israel to sin.

¹⁷ And Jeroboam's wife arose and departed, and came to Tirzah; when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died.

¹⁸ And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of Jehovah, which he spoke through his servant Ahijah the prophet.

¹⁹ And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

²⁰ And the days that Jeroboam reigned were twenty-two years; and he slept with his fathers. And Nadab his son reigned in his stead.

²¹ And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that Jehovah had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there; and his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess.

²² And Judah did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed more than all that their fathers had done.

²³ And they also built for themselves high places, and columns, and Asherahs on every high hill and under every green tree;

²⁴ and there were also sodomites in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that Jehovah had dispossessed before the children of Israel.

²⁵ And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, [that] Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem.

²⁶ And he took away the treasures of the house of Jehovah, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all; and he took away all the shields of gold that Solomon had made.

²⁷ And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the couriers who kept the entrance of the king's house.

²⁸ And it was so, that as often as the king entered into the house of Jehovah, the couriers bore them, and brought them again into the chamber of the couriers.

²⁹ And the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

³⁰ And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all [their] days.

³¹ And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.