²⁹ About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah^(A) the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country, ³⁰ and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore^(B) it into twelve pieces. ³¹ Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear^(C) the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes. ³² But for the sake^(D) of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe. ³³ I will do this because they have^[a] forsaken me and worshiped^(E) Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked^(F) in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees^(G) and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.

³⁴ “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees. ³⁵ I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes. ³⁶ I will give one tribe^(H) to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp^(I) before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name.

¹⁶ When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:

So the Israelites went home.^{(C) 17} But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah,^(D) Rehoboam still ruled over them.

¹⁸ King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,^[a](E) who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death.^(F) King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. ¹⁹ So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David^(G) to this day.

²⁰ When all the Israelites heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah remained loyal to the house of David.^(H)

²¹ When Rehoboam arrived in Jerusalem, he mustered all Judah and the tribe of Benjamin—a hundred and eighty thousand able young men—to go to war^(I) against Israel and to regain the kingdom for Rehoboam son of Solomon.