1 Kings 12:25-33
King James Version
25 Then 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 the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which 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 unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
Read full chapter
1 Kings 12:25-33
Living Bible
25 Jeroboam now built the city of Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and it became his capital. Later he built Penuel. 26 Jeroboam thought, “Unless I’m careful, the people will want a descendant of David as their king. 27 When they go to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the Temple, they will become friendly with King Rehoboam; then they will kill me and ask him to be their king instead.”
28 So on the advice of his counselors, the king had two golden calf idols made and told the people, “It’s too much trouble to go to Jerusalem to worship; from now on these will be your gods—they rescued you from your captivity in Egypt!”
29 One of these calf idols was placed in Bethel and the other in Dan. 30 This was of course a great sin, for the people worshiped them. 31 He also made shrines on the hills and ordained priests from the rank and file of the people—even those who were not from the priestly tribe of Levi. 32-33 Jeroboam also announced that the annual Tabernacle Festival would be held at Bethel on the first of November[a] (a date he decided upon himself), similar to the annual festival at Jerusalem; he himself offered sacrifices upon the altar to the calves at Bethel and burned incense to them. And it was there at Bethel that he ordained priests for the shrines on the hills.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 1 Kings 12:32 on the first of November, literally, “on the fifteenth day of the eighth month” (of the Hebrew calendar). This was a month later than the annual celebration in Jerusalem, which God had ordained.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.