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He said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” The people departed.
1 Kings 12:5 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
  • BSB Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then return to me.” So the people departed.
  • NKJV So he said to them, “Depart for three days, then come back to me.” And the people departed.
  • NASB Then he said to them, “Depart for three days, then return to me.” So the people departed.
  • NLT Rehoboam replied, “Give me three days to think this over. Then come back for my answer.” So the people went away.

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 asks for three days to consider before giving his answer. The delay opens the way for him to weigh competing counsel.

Overview

Rehoboam sends the people away for three days while he deliberates. This pause shows initial prudence but soon gives way to a fateful choice between two kinds of advice. The interval frames the contrast between the wisdom of experience and the arrogance of youth that follows.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • 1 Kgs 12:12So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king asked, saying, “Come to me again the third day.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

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 12:5YouTube · 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 12:5 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.