VIN(i)
1 Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.
2 When Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from the presence of king Solomon), Jeroboam returned out of Egypt.
3 And they sent for him; and Jeroboam and all Israel came to Rehoboam and said,
4 Your father made our yoke heavy. And now lighten the heavy service of your father, and his heavy yoke which he put on us, and we will serve you.
5 And he said to them, Come to me again after three days. So the people went away.
6 And king Rehoboam consulted with the aged men who had stood before his father Solomon when he was alive, saying, How do you advise to answer this people a word?
7 They told him: "If you are good to these people and try to please them by speaking gently to them, then they will always be your servants."
8 He ignored the advice the elders gave him. He sought advice from the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
9 He asked: "What is your advice? How should we respond to these people who are asking me to lighten the burden my father put on them?"
10 And the young men of his generation said to him, This is the answer to give to the people who came to you saying, Your father put a hard yoke on us, but will you make it less; say to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's body;
11 My father laid upon you a heavy yoke, and I will add more weight to it: my father beat you with scourges, but I will beat you with scorpions.
12 And when Jeroboam and all Israel were come the third day, as the king bade, saying, "Come again to me the third day,"
13 The king answered them harshly. He ignored the elder's advice.
14 and spoke to them after the advice of the young men saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
15 The king would not listen to the people because the turn of events was from God, so that the LORD might fulfill his prediction that he spoke through Nebat's son Ahijah the Shilonite.
16 When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king: "What share do we have in David's kingdom? We will not receive an inheritance from Jesse's son. Everyone to his own tent, Israel! Now look after your own house, David!" So all Israel went home to their tents.
17 But as for the Israelites who were living in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam ruled over them.
18 King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was in charge of conscripted labor, but the Israelites stoned him to death, and King Rehoboam had to jump in his chariot and flee back in a hurry to Jerusalem.
19 So Israel rebelled against the house of David to this day.