and spoke to them as the young men had advised, saying, “Whereas my father made your yoke heavy, I will add to your yoke. Whereas my father scourged you with whips, I will scourge you with scorpions.”
Parallel translations
- WEB 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 chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.”
- KJV And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
- NKJV and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges!”
- NASB and he spoke to them according to the advice of the young men, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions!”
- NLT and followed the counsel of his younger advisers. He told the people, “My father laid heavy burdens on you, but I’m going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Rehoboam threatens to make the yoke heavier and the punishment harsher, following his peers' advice. He chooses tyranny over compassion.
Overview
Adopting the young men's words, Rehoboam vows to increase the people's burden and chastise them with scorpions. His arrogance answers a reasonable plea with cruelty. The folly of this reply directly provokes the northern tribes to rebel, demonstrating how pride in leadership brings ruin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Exod 5:5–9Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you would be stopping them from their labor.”
- 1 Kgs 12:10–11The young men who had grown up with him replied, “This is how you should answer these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you should make it lighter.’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist!
- Exod 5:16–18No straw has been given to your servants, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
- Eccl 7:8The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.
- 2 Chr 22:4–5And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, as the house of Ahab had done, for to his destruction they were his counselors after the death of his father.
- Esth 2:2–4Then the king’s attendants proposed, “Let a search be made for beautiful young virgins for the king,
- Jas 3:14But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
- Prov 17:14To start a quarrel is to release a flood; so abandon the dispute before it breaks out.
- Dan 6:7All the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce a decree that for thirty days anyone who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions.
- Prov 16:18Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- Isa 19:11–13The princes of Zoan are mere fools; Pharaoh’s wise counselors give senseless advice. How can you say to Pharaoh, “I am one of the wise, a son of eastern kings”?
- Exod 1:14and made their lives bitter with hard labor in brick and mortar, and with all kinds of work in the fields. Every service they imposed was harsh.
- Esth 1:16–21And in the presence of the king and his princes, Memucan replied, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king, but all the princes and the peoples in all the provinces of King Xerxes.
- Prov 13:10Arrogance leads only to strife, but wisdom is with the well-advised.
- Prov 12:5The plans of the righteous are just, but the counsel of the wicked leads to deceit.
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Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 12:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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