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But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers.
1 Kings 12:8 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB But he abandoned the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.
  • KJV But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
  • BSB But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the elders; instead, he consulted the young men who had grown up with him and served him.
  • NKJV But he rejected the advice which the elders had given him, and consulted the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.
  • NASB But he ignored the advice of the elders which they had given him, and consulted with the young men who had grown up with him and served him.

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 rejects the elders' advice and consults his young peers instead. He turns from wisdom to flattery.

Overview

Abandoning the counsel of the experienced elders, Rehoboam seeks out his contemporaries who had grown up with him. The choice reveals pride and a desire to assert dominance rather than serve. This turning point illustrates the folly of preferring advice that flatters our impulses over counsel that calls us to humility.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • Prov 19:20Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter end.
  • Prov 1:30They wanted none of my counsel. They despised all my reproof.
  • Prov 1:2–5to know wisdom and instruction; to discern the words of understanding;
  • Prov 1:25but you have ignored all my counsel, and wanted none of my reproof;
  • Eccl 10:2–3A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart at his left.
  • 2 Chr 10:8But he abandoned the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him, who stood before him.
  • 2 Chr 25:15–16Therefore Yahweh’s anger burned against Amaziah, and he sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought after the gods of the people, which have not delivered their own people out of your hand?”
  • Prov 25:12As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

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 12:8YouTube · 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 12:8 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.