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Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom might revert to the house of David.
1 Kings 12:26 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to David’s house.
  • KJV And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
  • NKJV And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom may return to the house of David:
  • NASB And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will return to the house of David.
  • NLT Jeroboam thought to himself, “Unless I am careful, the kingdom will return to the dynasty of David.

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

Jeroboam fears the kingdom will return to David's house. His anxiety drives his next decisions.

Overview

In his heart Jeroboam worries that loyalty to the temple in Jerusalem will draw the people back to Rehoboam. This fear, despite God's promise of a sure house if he obeyed, reveals a failure to trust the Lord. His insecurity becomes the seedbed of grievous sin.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 12

  • John 12:10–11So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,
  • John 11:47–50Then the chief priests and Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs.
  • Acts 4:16–17“What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it.
  • 1 Sam 27:1David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”
  • Jer 38:18–21But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape their grasp.’”
  • Ps 14:1For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.
  • 1 Kgs 11:38If you listen to all that I command you, walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight in order to keep My statutes and commandments as My servant David did, then I will be with you. I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.
  • 2 Chr 20:20Early in the morning they got up and left for the Wilderness of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, “Hear me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be upheld; believe in His prophets, and you will succeed.”
  • John 12:19Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You can see that this is doing you no good. Look how the whole world has gone after Him!”
  • Luke 7:39When the Pharisee who had invited Jesus saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, He would know who this is and what kind of woman is touching Him—for she is a sinner!”
  • Mark 2:6–8But some of the scribes were sitting there and thinking in their hearts,
  • Isa 7:9The head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you do not stand firm in your faith, then you will not stand at all.’”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Kings videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Kings 12:26YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 KingsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

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 12:26 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.