Study Desk

And he said to Jeroboam, "Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord , the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to tear the kingdom from the hand of Solomon and will give you ten tribes

(but he shall have one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel),

Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, for the sake of David my servant whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes.

And if you will listen to all that I command you, and will walk in my ways, and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did, I will be with you and will build you a sure house, as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.

Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king.

And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt.

He said to them, "Go away for three days, then come again to me." So the people went away.

And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, "Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,' thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father's thighs.

So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which the Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

‘Thus says the Lord , You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, for this thing is from me.'" So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord .

Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.

He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings.

And the king said to the man of God, "Entreat now the favor of the Lord your God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored to me." And the man of God entreated the Lord , and the king's hand was restored to him and became as it was before.

for so was it commanded me by the word of the Lord , saying, ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water nor return by the way that you came.'"

And he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." So they saddled the donkey for him and he mounted it.

for it was said to me by the word of the Lord , ‘You shall neither eat bread nor drink water there, nor return by the way that you came.'"

And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back.

And he said to his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." And they saddled it.

For the saying that he called out by the word of the Lord against the altar in Bethel and against all the houses of the high places that are in the cities of Samaria shall surely come to pass."

After this thing Jeroboam did not turn from his evil way, but made priests for the high places again from among all the people. Any who would, he ordained to be priests of the high places.