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Saturday, September 21st, 2024
the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Christian Standard Bible ®

1 Kings 12:28

So the king sought advice. Then he made two golden calves, and he said to the people, "Going to Jerusalem is too difficult for you. Israel, here is your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt."

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Beth-El;   Calf;   Church and State;   Dan;   Jeroboam;   Religion;   Rulers;   Statecraft;   Thompson Chain Reference - Calves, Jeroboam's;   Counsel;   Evil;   False;   Golden Calves;   Idolatry;   Images;   Worship, False;   Worship, True and False;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Calves of Jeroboam;   Idolatry;   Offence;   Rebellion against God;   Sins, National;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Calf;   Dan;   Rehoboam;   Shechem;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Bethel;   Dan;   Idol, idolatry;   Israel;   Jeroboam;   Jerusalem;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Ethics;   Idol, Idolatry;   King, Kingship;   Kings, First and Second, Theology of;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Aven;   Bethel;   Bullock;   Calf;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Aholah;   Calf Worship;   Degrees, Songs of;   Heifer;   Israel;   Old Testament;   Pentateuch;   Shechem (1);   Holman Bible Dictionary - Bull;   Calves, Golden;   Cattle;   False Worship;   Golden Calf;   High Place;   Idol;   Jeroboam;   Kings, 1 and 2;   Transportation and Travel;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Aaron;   Calf, Golden;   God;   Israel;   Priests and Levites;   Rehoboam,;   Solomon;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Calf, Golden;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Beth-aven;   Calf;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Israel kingdom of;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Idolatry,;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Jeroboam;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Kingdom of Israel;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Altar;   Apostasy;   Ark of the Covenant;   Calf, Golden;   Dan (2);   Gods;   Gold;   Take;   Temple;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Bethel;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Calf-Worship;   Temple of Solomon;  

Parallel Translations

Legacy Standard Bible
So the king took counsel, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt."
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Wherupon the king toke counsel, and made two calues of golde, and sayd vnto them, It is muche for you to go vp to Hierusalem: Behold O Israel, these are thy goddes, which brought thee out of the lande of Egypt.
New King James Version
Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!"
Literal Translation
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 your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt!
Easy-to-Read Version
So the king asked his advisors what to do. They gave him their advice, and King Jeroboam made two golden calves. He said to the people, "You don't have to go to Jerusalem to worship anymore. Israel, these are the gods that brought you out of Egypt."
Revised Standard Version
So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
World English Bible
Whereupon 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: see your gods, Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
King James Version (1611)
Whereupon the king tooke counsell, and made two calues of gold, and said vnto them, It is too much for you to goe vp to Ierusalem: Behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee vp out of the land of Egypt.
King James Version
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.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And the kynge helde a councell and made two golden calues, and sayde vnto them: It is to moch for you to go to Ierusale: beholde, there is thy God (O Israel) which broughte ye out of Egipte.
THE MESSAGE
So the king came up with a plan: He made two golden calves. Then he announced, "It's too much trouble for you to go to Jerusalem to worship. Look at these—the gods who brought you out of Egypt!" He put one calf in Bethel; the other he placed in Dan. This was blatant sin. Think of it—people traveling all the way to Dan to worship a calf!
American Standard Version
Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he 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.
Bible in Basic English
So after taking thought the king made two oxen of gold; and he said to the people, You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough; see! these are your gods, O Israel, who took you out of the land of Egypt.
Update Bible Version
Whereupon 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: here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Webster's Bible Translation
Upon which the king took counsel, and made two calves [of] gold, and said to them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
New English Translation
After the king had consulted with his advisers, he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, "It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt."
Contemporary English Version
Jeroboam asked for advice and then made two gold statues of calves. He showed them to the people and said, "Listen everyone! You won't have to go to Jerusalem to worship anymore. Here are your gods who rescued you from Egypt."
Complete Jewish Bible
After seeking advice, the king made two calves of gold and said to the people, "You have been going up to Yerushalayim long enough! Here are your gods, Isra'el, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!"
Darby Translation
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!
Geneva Bible (1587)
Whereupon the King tooke counsell, and made two calues of golde, and saide vnto them, It is too much for you to goe vp to Ierusalem: beholde, O Israel, thy gods, which brought thee vp out of the lande of Egypt.
George Lamsa Translation
So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said to all Israel, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!
Amplified Bible
So the king took counsel [and followed bad advice] and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "It is too much for you to go [all the way] up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
Hebrew Names Version
Whereupon 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 Yerushalayim: see your gods, Yisra'el, which brought you up out of the land of Mitzrayim.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said unto them: 'Ye have gone up long enough to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'
New Living Translation
So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, "It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!"
New Life Bible
So the king asked the leaders what he should do. And he made two calves of gold. Then he said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt."
New Revised Standard
So the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold. He said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the king took counsel, and went, and made two golden heifers, and said to the people, Let it suffice you to have gone hitherto to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
English Revised Version
Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he 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.
Berean Standard Bible
After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves and said to the people, "Going to Jerusalem is too much for you. Here, O Israel, are your gods, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
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, Lo! thy gods, O Israel, that brought thee up out of the land of Egypt;
Douay-Rheims Bible
And finding out a device, he made two golden calves, and said to them: Go ye up no more to Jerusalem: Behold thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.
Lexham English Bible
And the king had decided, so he made two golden calves and he said to them, "You have been going up to Jerusalem long enough; here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt."
English Standard Version
So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, "You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt."
New American Standard Bible
So the king consulted, and he made two golden calves; and he said to the people, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt."
New Century Version
King Jeroboam asked for advice. Then he made two golden calves. "It is too long a journey for you to go to Jerusalem to worship," he said to the people. "Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt."
Good News Translation
After thinking it over, he made two bull-calves of gold and said to his people, "You have been going long enough to Jerusalem to worship. People of Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt!"
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And by counsel thouyt out, he made tweyne goldun caluys, and seide to hem, Nyle ye stie more in to Jerusalem; Israel, lo! thi goddis, that ledden thee out of the lond of Egipt.
Young's Literal Translation
And the king taketh counsel, and maketh two calves of gold, and saith unto them, `Enough to you of going up to Jerusalem; lo, thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.'

Contextual Overview

25 Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built Penuel. 26 Jeroboam said to himself, "The way things are going now, the kingdom might return to the house of David. 27 If these people regularly go to offer sacrifices in the Lord 's temple in Jerusalem, the heart of these people will return to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will murder me and go back to the king of Judah." 28 So the king sought advice. Then he made two golden calves, and he said to the people, "Going to Jerusalem is too difficult for you. Israel, here is your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt." 29 He set up one in Bethel, and put the other in Dan. 30 This led to sin; the people walked in procession before one of the calves all the way to Dan. 31 Jeroboam also built shrines on the high places and set up priests from every class of people who were not Levites. 32 Jeroboam made a festival in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the festival in Judah. He offered sacrifices on the altar; he made this offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had set up. He also stationed the priests in Bethel for the high places he had set up. 33 He offered sacrifices on the altar he had set up in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. He chose this month on his own. He made a festival for the Israelites, offered sacrifices on the altar, and burned incense.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

took counsel: 1 Kings 12:8, 1 Kings 12:9, Exodus 1:10, Isaiah 30:1

two calves of gold: He invented a political religion, and instituted feasts in his own times, different from those appointed by Jehovah; gave the people certain objects of adoration, and pretended to think that it would be both inconvenient and oppressive to them to go up to Jerusalem to worship. These calves were doubtless of the same kind as the calf which was set up by Aaron; and it is remarkable, that in pointing them out to the people he should use the same words that Aaron used on that occasion, when they must have heard what terrible judgments fell upon their forefathers for this idolatry. Solomon's idolatry, however, had prepared the people for Jeroboam's abominations. Exodus 20:4, Deuteronomy 4:14-18, 2 Kings 10:29, 2 Kings 17:16, 2 Chronicles 11:15, Hosea 8:4-7, Hosea 10:5, Hosea 10:6

It is too much: Isaiah 30:10, 2 Peter 2:19

behold: Exodus 32:4, Exodus 32:8

Reciprocal: Leviticus 13:29 - General Deuteronomy 12:13 - General 1 Kings 14:9 - hast done 1 Kings 15:26 - walked 1 Kings 15:34 - walked 1 Kings 16:19 - in his 1 Kings 22:52 - and in the way 2 Kings 2:23 - Bethel 2 Kings 3:3 - General 2 Kings 14:24 - he departed 2 Kings 16:3 - he walked 2 Kings 17:8 - walked 2 Kings 17:21 - Jeroboam drave 2 Kings 23:15 - the altar 2 Chronicles 11:14 - Jeroboam 2 Chronicles 13:8 - with you golden 2 Chronicles 15:3 - a long 2 Chronicles 17:4 - not after 2 Chronicles 25:7 - for the Lord Job 34:30 - General Isaiah 31:7 - for a sin Isaiah 44:10 - General Isaiah 46:6 - lavish Jeremiah 48:13 - as the Ezekiel 16:15 - and playedst Ezekiel 23:8 - whoredoms Ezekiel 48:1 - Dan Daniel 3:1 - made Hosea 4:15 - Bethaven Hosea 10:8 - the sin Amos 8:14 - sin

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Whereupon the king took counsel,.... Of some of his principal men, that had as little religion as himself, and were only concerned for the civil state; and the result of their consultation was as follows:

and made two calves of gold; in imitation of that which was made by Aaron, and encouraged by his example and success; and having been in Egypt some time, he might have learned the calf or ox worship there, and might take his pattern from thence, and have two as they had; the one they called Apis, which was worshipped at Memphis, and another called Mnevis, worshipped at Hierapolis, as many learned men have observed; these were she calves, according to the Septuagint and Josephus q:

and said unto them; not his counsellors, but the people of the land:

it is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; pretending he sought their ease, by contriving a method to prevent their long fatiguing journeys, to go up with their sacrifices, firstfruits, c. and the Jews r say the firstfruits ceased from going up to Jerusalem on the twenty third of Sivan, which answers to part of May and part of June, on which day they kept a fast on that account:

behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt using the same words Aaron did on a like occasion; not that he thought these were really gods, and had divinity in them; nor could he hope or expect that the people would believe they had; but that these were representations of the true God, who had brought them out of Egypt; and that it might as well be supposed that God would cause his Shechinah to dwell in them as between the cherubim over the ark.

q Ut supra, (Antiqu. l. 8. c. 8.) sect. 4. r Schulchan Aruch, par. 1. c. 580. sect. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The “calves of gold” were probably representations of the cherubic form, imitations of the two cherubim which guarded the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies. But being unauthorized copies, set up in places which God had not chosen, and without any divine sanction, the sacred writers call them “calves.” They were not mere human figures with wings, but had at any rate the head of a calf or ox. (Hence, some attribute this calf-worship entirely to Assyrian and Phoenician influence.) Jeroboam, in setting them up, was probably not so much influenced by the Apis-worship of Egypt, as:

(1) by a conviction that the Israelites could not be brought to attach themselves to any worship which did not present them with sensible objects to venerate;

(2) by the circumstance that he did not possess any of the old objects of reverence, which had been concentrated at Jerusalem; and

(3) by the fact that he could plead for his “calves” the authority of so great a name as Aaron (marginal reference).

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 28. Made two calves of gold — He invented a political religion, instituted feasts in his own times different from those appointed by the Lord, gave the people certain objects of devotion, and pretended to think it would be both inconvenient and oppressive to them to have to go up to Jerusalem to worship. This was not the last time that religion was made a state engine to serve political purposes. It is strange that in pointing out his calves to the people, he should use the same words that Aaron used when he made the golden calf in the wilderness, when they must have heard what terrible judgments fell upon their forefathers for this idolatry.


 
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