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¹ AND Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.² And when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it (for he had fled from the presence of King Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt)³ Then they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the people of Israel came, and spoke to Rehoboam, saying,⁴ Your father made our yoke harsh; now therefore lighten some of the grievous service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, and we will serve you.⁵ And he said to them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. So all the people departed.⁶ And King Rehoboam consulted with the old men who had stood before his father while he was still alive, and said to them, How do you advise that I may answer the people?⁷ And they said to him, If you will be a servant to this people this day and will serve them and answer them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants for ever.⁸ But he forsook the counsel which the old men had given him and consulted with the young men who were grown up with him and who stood before him;⁹ And he said to them, What counsel do you give, that we may answer the people who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which your father did put upon us lighter?¹⁰ And the young men who were grown up with him spoke to him, saying, Thus shall you speak to the people who have said to you, Your father made our yoke heavy, but make you it lighter for us; thus shall you say to them, My little finger is thicker than my fathers thumb.¹¹ And now whereas my father laid a heavy yoke upon you, I will add to your yoke; my father has chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with knouts.¹² So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had commanded them, saying, Come to me again the third day.¹³ And the king answered the people harshly, and forsook the old mens counsel that they gave him;¹⁴ And spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with knouts.¹⁵ Wherefore the king did not listen to the people; for the stirring of strife was from the LORD, that the LORD might perform his saying which he spoke by his servant Ahijah the prophet, the Shilonite, unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

¹⁶ So when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, saying, We have no portion in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse; to your tents, O Israel; now see to your own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.¹⁷ And the children of Israel dwelt in their cities; but Judah made Rehoboam the son of Solomon king over them.¹⁸ Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, and he died. Therefore King Rehoboam made haste to ride in his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.¹⁹ So Israel has rebelled against the house of David to this day.²⁰ And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the congregation and made him king over all Israel; there was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only.²¹ And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men of war to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.²² But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah the prophet of God, saying,²³ Speak to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,²⁴ Thus says the LORD: You shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel; return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned according to the word of the LORD.

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 the kingdom will return to the house of David;²⁷ If this people go up to do sacrifices at the house of the LORD in Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.²⁸ 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!²⁹ And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other he put 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 a temple of idols, and made priests from among the people who were not of the sons of Levi.³² And Jeroboam made a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast that is in Judah, and he went up to the altar to offer sacrifices. So did he in Beth-el, sacrificing to the calves that he had made; and he appointed in Beth-el priests for the temples of idols which he had made.³³ And he went to the altar which he had made in Beth-el, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and made a feast to the children of Israel; and he went up to the altar to burn incense.