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2 Chronicles 10
New Life Version
2 Chronicles 10
New Life Version
Rehoboam Rules
10 Then Rehoboam went to Shechem. All Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard about it, he returned from Egypt. For Jeroboam had run to Egypt to get away from King Solomon. 3 And the people sent for him. Jeroboam and all Israel came to Rehoboam and said, 4 “Your father gave us a heavy load to carry. So now make our work easier than your father made us work. Do not let our load be as heavy as the one he put on us. And we will work for you.” 5 Rehoboam said to them, “Come to me again in three days.” So the people left.
6 Then King Rehoboam spoke with the leaders who had served his father Solomon while he was still alive. He said, “Tell me, how do you think I should answer these people?” 7 They said to him, “If you will be kind to these people and please them and speak good words to them, they will be your servants forever.” 8 But Rehoboam would not listen to the wise words of the leaders. He spoke with the young men who grew up with him and served him. 9 He said to them, “Tell me, how do you think I should answer these people who have said to me, ‘Do not let our load be as heavy as the one your father put on us’?” 10 The young men who grew up with him said to him, “Say this to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our load heavy, but you make it easier for us.’ Tell them, ‘My little finger is bigger around than my father’s body! 11 My father gave you a heavy load. I will add to your load. My father punished you with whips. But I will punish you with scorpions.’”
12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king had told them, saying, “Return to me on the third day.” 13 The king answered them with strong words. King Rehoboam did not listen to the wise words of the leaders. 14 Instead he listened to the words of the young men. And he said to them, “My father made your load heavy, but I will add to it. My father punished you with whips, but I will punish you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people. God made this happen so that He might make His Word come true which He spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
16 All Israel saw that the king did not listen to them. So the people said to the king, “What share do we have in David? We have no share in the son of Jesse. Every man to your tents, O Israel! Now look to your own house, David!” So all Israel left and went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam ruled over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, the man who made the people work. But the people of Israel killed him with stones. So King Rehoboam got on his war-wagon in a hurry, to go to Jerusalem. 19 Israel has been against the family of David to this day.
2 Chronicles 10
New International Version
2 Chronicles 10
New International Version
Israel Rebels Against Rehoboam(A)
10 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king. 2 When Jeroboam(B) son of Nebat heard this (he was in Egypt, where he had fled(C) from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt. 3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and all Israel(D) went to Rehoboam and said to him: 4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us,(E) but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
5 Rehoboam answered, “Come back to me in three days.” So the people went away.
6 Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders(F) who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked.
7 They replied, “If you will be kind to these people and please them and give them a favorable answer,(G) they will always be your servants.”
8 But Rehoboam rejected(H) the advice the elders(I) gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. 9 He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”
10 The young men who had grown up with him replied, “The people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. 11 My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’”
12 Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to Rehoboam, as the king had said, “Come back to me in three days.” 13 The king answered them harshly. Rejecting the advice of the elders, 14 he followed the advice of the young men and said, “My father made your yoke heavy; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for this turn of events was from God,(J) to fulfill the word the Lord had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.(K)
16 When all Israel(L) saw that the king refused to listen to them, they answered the king:
“What share do we have in David,(M)
what part in Jesse’s son?
To your tents, Israel!
Look after your own house, David!”
So all the Israelites went home. 17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the towns of Judah, Rehoboam still ruled over them.
18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram,[a](N) who was in charge of forced labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death. 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 to this day.
Footnotes
- 2 Chronicles 10:18 Hebrew Hadoram, a variant of Adoniram
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