And Rehoboamwentto Shechem: forallIsraelwere cometo Shechemto make him king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboamthe sonof Nebat, whowas yetin Egypt, heard of it , ( forhe was fledfrom the presenceof kingSolomon, and Jeroboamdweltin Egypt;) That they sentand calledhim. And Jeroboamand allthe congregationof Israelcame, and spokeuntoRehoboam, saying, Thy fathermade our yokegrievous: nowtherefore make thouthe grievousserviceof thy father, and his heavyyokewhichhe putuponus, lighter, and we will servethee. And he saiduntothem, Departyet for threedays, then come againtome. And the peopledeparted. And kingRehoboamconsultedwiththe old men, thatstoodbeforeSolomonhis fatherwhilehe yet lived, and said, Howdo yeadvisethat I may answerthispeople? And they spokeuntohim, saying, Ifthou wilt bea servantunto thispeoplethis day, and wilt servethem, and answerthem, and speakgoodwordstothem, then they will bethy servantsforever. But he forsookthe counselof the old men, whichthey had givenhim, and consultedwiththe young menthatwere grown upwithhim, and whichstoodbeforehim: And he saiduntothem, Whatcounselgive yethat we may answerthispeople, whohave spokentome, saying, Make the yokewhichthy fatherdid putuponus lighter? And the young menthatwere grown upwithhim spokeuntohim, saying, Thusshalt thou speakunto thispeoplethatspokeuntothee, saying, Thy fathermade our yokeheavy, but make thou it lighteruntous; thusshalt thou sayuntothem, My little finger shall be thickerthan my father's loins. And nowwhereas my fatherdid ladeyou with a heavyyoke, Iwill addtoyour yoke: my fatherhath chastisedyou with whips, but Iwill chastiseyou with scorpions. So Jeroboamand allthe peoplecametoRehoboamthe thirdday, asthe kinghad appointed, saying, Cometome again the thirdday. And the kingansweredthe peopleroughly, and forsookthe old men's counselthatthey gavehim; And spoketothem after the counselof the young men, saying, My fathermade your yokeheavy, and Iwill addtoyour yoke: my father also chastisedyou with whips, but Iwill chastiseyou with scorpions. Wherefore the kinghearkenednotuntothe people; forthe causewasfromthe LORD, thathe might performhis saying, whichthe LORDspokebyAhijahthe ShiloniteuntoJeroboamthe sonof Nebat. So when allIsraelsawthatthe kinghearkenednotuntothem, the peopleansweredthe king, saying, Whatportionhave we in David? neither have we inheritancein the sonof Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: nowseeto thine own house, David. So Israeldepartedunto their tents. But as for the childrenof Israelwhich dweltin the citiesof Judah, Rehoboamreignedoverthem. Then kingRehoboamsentAdoram, who was overthe tribute; and allIsraelstonedhim with stones, that he died. Therefore kingRehoboammade speedto get him upto his chariot, to fleeto Jerusalem. So Israelrebelledagainst the houseof Daviduntothisday. And it came to pass, when allIsraelheardthatJeroboamwas come again, that they sentand calledhim untothe congregation, and made him kingoverallIsrael: there wasnonethat followedthe houseof David, butthe tribeof Judahonly. And when Rehoboamwas cometo Jerusalem, he assembledallthe houseof Judah, withthe tribeof Benjamin, a hundredand fourscorethousandchosenmen, which were warriors, to fightagainstthe houseof Israel, to bringthe kingdomagain to Rehoboamthe sonof Solomon. But the wordof GodcameuntoShemaiahthe manof God, saying, SpeakuntoRehoboam, the sonof Solomon, kingof Judah, and untoallthe houseof Judahand Benjamin, and to the remnantof the people, saying, Thussaiththe LORD, Ye shall notgo up, norfightagainstyour brethrenthe childrenof Israel: returnevery manto his house; forthisthingisfromme. They hearkenedtherefore to the wordof the LORD, and returnedto depart, according to the wordof the LORD. Then JeroboambuiltShechemin mountEphraim, and dwelttherein; and went outfrom thence, and builtPenuel. And Jeroboamsaidin his heart, Nowshall the kingdomreturnto the houseof David: Ifthispeoplego upto dosacrificein the houseof the LORDat Jerusalem, then shall the heartof thispeopleturn againuntotheir lord, even untoRehoboamkingof Judah, and they shall killme, and go againtoRehoboamkingof Judah. Whereupon the kingtook counsel, and madetwocalves of gold, and saiduntothem, It is too muchfor you to go upto Jerusalem: beholdthy gods, O Israel, whichbroughtthee up out of the landof Egypt. And he setthe onein Bethel, and the otherputhe in Dan. And thisthingbecamea sin: for the peoplewent to worship beforethe one, even untoDan. And he madea houseof high places, and madepriestsof the lowestof the people, whichwerenotof the sonsof Levi. And Jeroboamordaineda feastin the eighthmonth, on the fifteenthdayof the month, like unto the feastthat is in Judah, and he offereduponthe altar. Sodidhe in Bethel, sacrificingunto the calvesthathe had made: and he placedin Bethelthe priestsof the high placeswhichhe had made. So he offereduponthe altarwhichhe had madein Bethelthe fifteenthdayof the eighthmonth, even in the monthwhichhe had devisedof his own heart; and ordaineda feastunto the childrenof Israel: and he offereduponthe altar, and burnt incense.